My Brothers Empire
by Sacred Jedi
Summary: Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader's brother. After being forced to live with him for all of his life, Anakin and a Jedi youngling that he saved, Ahsoka Tano, escape and join the rebel alliance.
1. Prologue

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Prologue**_

The rows of Jedi knelt in lines in the halls that dignified their ranks. The younglings were often taken to the Jedi council chamber to die, or be tortured, so that the council could watch them suffer. The knights and padawans were killed in the rooms that they knelt in, bound by rope around their hands.

The once mighty Jedi order had been defeated by Order 66. The clones were going to kill the Jedi after Darth Vader became the apprentice of Darth Sidious, who was supposed to be the chancellor of the republic. But Vader had other plans, and he made them into his play things. The things that he could torture when he was angry or bored, the things that would justify that he was a sith, and not who he was in his quarters on his flag ship, the Exactor. A secret that he had tried, and failed, to keep from his master and the Jedi. They had read it in his mind and endlessly taunted him about it, trying to get him to come back to the light. But it was made that much harder by the fact that he constantly denied it, and killed people to make them believe it. But they knew the truth and it was the only thing left to turn him back to the light side.

This secret of Vader's lived in his quarters on board of his ship the Exactor, sleeping in a separate set of chambers and bringing out the only light that existed in Vader's soul.

The emperor was constantly tormenting Vader about the source of the light and had turned him from loving the source to becoming somewhat annoyed with it. But this was only when Sidious was nearby, or at least it used to be.

The secret that Vader kept was his baby brother, Anakin Skywalker.

The chosen one.

The force would not allow Anakin to die until he had fulfilled his destiny, which meant that he had to be under constant supervision. He could not be tortured as the force would find a way to free him and if any harm came to him the force would cause havoc for the sith. So Sidious had agreed that Anakin should be kept under the care of his brother, Vader. It was just the way that they treated one another that infuriated the dark lord.

They had been so close, and so friendly. But not any more. Since the emperor had paid a visit to the young boy, when he was still just a teenager, he had told him of what Vader had done to the Jedi, and the galaxy.

And their mother.

He even let Anakin out of the Exactor to go to the Jedi temple to see it for himself, and the result was more than Sidious could have dreamed for. But it did have one small side effect, which Sidious knew was not worth having Anakin and Vader despise one another.

The moment the Jedi council had laid eyes upon Anakin Skywalker and heard Sidious calling him the chosen one, they had made it their mission to tell him all that they could about the dark side, the sith, and the empire.

Whilst Sidious was out of the room, Anakin was told everything that the Jedi knew about the battle between good and evil. Anakin had not been on any side until then, but afterwards he was on the side of the Jedi.

He was promised that once the Jedi were free they would help him to get away from Vader and Sidious. They had told him that, if they could, they would make sure that he could fulfil his destiny and destroy the sith.

When Sidious re-entered the room, he found Master Yoda telling Anakin why his brother had turned to the dark side, and how to avoid doing the same. To the sith lords despair, Anakin was listening eagerly and eating up everything that they said. He was even telling them things that they wanted to know, such as what had happened in the outside world, and where he was staying, or being held as they called it, which meant that they could escape easier if they ever found a way to unbind themselves.

Sidious had been about to use force lightning on Anakin when Vader had walked in and been confused as to why his brother was there at all. Vader even had the nerve to save Anakin from the force lightning and thwart Sidious by attacking him, only to be defeated. Sidious was going to kill Anakin before he and Vader became engaged in a shouting match about how Vader was evil and Anakin knew what he had done to their mother.

Vader had killed her.

Sidious did not kill Anakin because he could sense his apprentices hatred and was pleased that all had gone as planned. The source of Vader's anger and hatred should not be destroyed, because there was so much more power for Vader to gain from having his hatred constantly fuelled.

Vader had become more angry than he had ever been when Master Windu had told Anakin to stop, and he had done so immediately. The man had been tortured to oblivion, just as the rest of the council had, though they always told him that his brother would be free one day, and he would destroy the sith.

The emperor would torture the Jedi too, he hated them more than anything he did could express. But the Jedi had become so resistant since they had discovered that their chosen one was alive, and well, and could be easily turned to the ways of the light side, whilst he remained resilient to the dark side.

They were so insufferable.

Sidious had seriously contemplated killing the boy, but then he remembered that killing him was impossible and simply resorted to letting him rot in his imprisonment, constantly bickering with his brother.

There was one thing that stumped the dark lord more than anything in the universe.

The boy, though he was no longer a boy, could use the force like no other, wield a lightsaber like Master Yoda himself and he had no training at all. He could not count the amount of times that he had gone over the prophecy of the chosen one to try and figure out why Anakin could do these things, but there were no answers in the original prophecy. It was rumoured that there was a book about the chosen one, written by the Jedi who recited the prophecy, that held all of the things that he would be able to do, or supposedly do, without any training.

Sidious had his spies looking for it, but it had been years and they had come up with nothing. No more than a rumour. So he had given up on it.

The Jedi, meanwhile, had done nothing but think of ways to help the chosen one since they had found out he actually existed. And, he was more skilled than any of them, whilst being only a child. Well, he had been a child the first time they had seen him fight. It had been against Sidious and he had displayed incredible skills even though he was completely untrained, they knew this from the sign of disbelief on the sith lords face; they could sense amusement from Vader, which surprised them.

The last time they had seen Anakin, he had grown up into a young adult. Impossibly, he had even more skill than before. He even fought of Vader when he made to kill a youngling in front of the council, and severed Vader's hand in the process. In fact, they had been certain that Vader was going to die before a battalion of stormtroopers had walked in and taken Anakin away, with the youngling.

The Jedi still have no idea what happened to her, though they presume that she was killed long ago, there was always hope for them when the chosen one was involved.

Anakin, however, had lived up to his title amongst the Jedi and the sith and had taken the youngling away from harm, to the one place that he could take her, though it was not very safe.

The Exactor.

Vader's flagship.

She was a togruta by the name of Ashoka Tano, who has since become something of a padawan to Anakin, though he is not a Jedi she always refers to them that way, as gratitude for saving her from the hell that the Jedi now lived in.

Ashoka was not permitted to have any lightsabers, though Anakin often allowed her to practise against Vader's wishes, and she soon learned not to speak out against Vader unless her master was present. Vader did not like the idea of her being in a position so close to him, being a Jedi, but did not kill her because Anakin had threatened to cause hell if he so much as touched her.

But the empires rule was about to come to an end, and now Anakin was twenty-five, Ashoka was sixteen. Together they could handle any opponent easily and the sith lords feared them more than they cared to admit, so they were both kept on the Exactor and carefully watched over...

Until they began formulating a plan to destroy the empire...

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Like it? Don't like it? Let me know if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 1

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 1**_

The quarters on board of the Exactor had remained silent all night. A rare occurence. Vader was on Coruscant torturing his favourite toys and this meant that Anakin could actually sleep peacefully, instead of keeping one eye open to see if his brother would dare to try to hurt Ashoka, or worse, kill her.

Ashoka was like a sister to him, and he was extremely protective of her. She had been very cautious around him when they had first arrived in Vader's quarters five years ago; she was scared, being a child, that Vader would kill her whilst she slept. Anakin had slept in her room to make sure that she felt safe and, to his surprise, Vader never once came inside, no doubt because he could sense Anakin's presence inside of Ashoka's chambers.

After a month or so, Ashoka had grown close to Anakin and trusted him completely. He had shown her how to fight like he could so that she could defend herself against Vader, if he dared go to her, until Anakin arrived. She had been eleven when they first met and was still eleven when Anakin began to teach her how to fight, and how to use the force.

She thought of him as her master, though he was not a Jedi, and an older brother.

Ashoka was sixteen now, and had gone through many of the Jedi's writes of passage even though she was not with them any more.

Anakin had taken her to Ilum to get her lightsaber crystal, much to the emperors distress, and she had emerged with two crystals. A green crystal and a yellow crystal.

The caves of Ilum were a bedtime story that Vader had told him after their mother had died, though Anakin soon found out that Vader had murdered her, and how the lightsaber crystals were there. Anakin had gone there himself and constructed his own lightsaber, with a blue blade.

Ashoka had built two lightsabers for herself and made her own Jedi tunic for herself so that she could always remember that she was a Jedi, and not a simple prisoner of Vader who had been saved from death.

Anakin did not wear a Jedi tunic, his brother would have burned it anyway, and wore clothes that were good for all conditions.

Especially fighting.

Whenever Vader was in his quarters, Ashoka stayed out of his way and did nothing but what Anakin told her to do.

Anakin had told her to meditate at least once every day in case the darkness that surrounded Vader might infect her, and they sparred with one another for an hour every day. Sometimes more than an hour, depending on how energetic she was feeling.

Ashoka had inherited Anakin's spirit and did not shy away when Vader and herself got into an arguement about the Jedi, but she knew not to make him too angry in case he tried to choke her whilst Anakin was gone.

Anakin and Ashoka had their own nicknames for one another. Ashoka reffered to Anakin as 'Skyguy' and Anakin reffered to Ashoka as 'Snips' for her snippy attitude that she had developed.

Though they both lived relatively peacefully in Vader's quarters, there were some issues with Ashoka's memories of the Jedi; the circumstances in which Anakin had found her often caused her to have nightmares.

Nightmares which either caused her to become unresponsive for some time, or drift off into her own thoughts.

There was the familiar screams and shouts from Ashoka's chambers which woke Anakin up. He waited a few seconds to see whether or not it was a persistent nightmare, before she called out again. It was one of her more violent nightmares.

Anakin quickly got out of bed and walked into Ashoka's chambers. Their chambers were adjoined by a door so that any immediate dangers wouldnt be able to harm Ashoka, the most immediate danger being Darth Vader. She was tossing around in her sleep and shouting out.

"No...they're my friends...NO!"

Anakin placed his hands gently on her shoulder and willed her to wake up. She stopped shouting and opened her eyes quickly, her entire body covered in sweat. Tears had formed in her eyes and were beginning to roll down her cheeks; Anakin held Ashoka close to him and let her cry. Jedi did not do these things after a nightmare, he was sure, but Ashoka was no ordinary Jedi. He had saved her from death and a life of hell so that she could help him to overthrow the empire, though he was not sure exactly how to do that yet.

Ashoka held onto him tightly as she cried and her body shook from the effects that her nightmare had on her. Anakin rubbed her back affectionatley and waited for her to calm down. Her sobs subsided after a few minutes and Anakin pulled back to look at her.

She hastily wiped the tears off of her face and looked up at him, giving him a weak smile.

"Another nightmare, huh?" Anakin asked. Ashoka nodded sadly in response; Anakin sighed. "You wont have these nightmares forever Ashoka, try not to let them have a big effect on you." Anakin advised.

"Master Yoda once said that there is no try, there is only a do or do not." Ashoka remembered quietly.

"There is always a try, Ashoka. It just depends on the outcome, that's all." Anakin told her. "Now come on, Vader's on Coruscant and we have about a week before he gets back. What do you want to do?"

Ashoka frowned. "He's torturing the Jedi again, isnt he?" She questioned him.

"I'm not sure what he's doing to be honest." Anakin admitted. "What do you want to do today?"

"Well, I was wondering, since I'm sixteen now, am I old enough to help you figure out a way to overthrow the empire?" She asked hopefully.

Anakin smiled at her. "I'll think about it, but I wouldnt get your hopes up just yet." said Anakin. "How about we have breakfast and then think about what we'll be doing for the rest of the day?"

"That sounds alright, I guess." Ashoka replied.

Anakin stood up with Ashoka and walked into the lounge area of Vader's quarters. There were two couches, at diagonal angles, with chairs on either side of them that faced inwards to a small table. The couches faced a screen that displayed either the HoloNet or a selected HoloVid that they chose. The walls were a traditional imperial grey colour.

The kitchenette had the same coloured walls, a tiled floor, table with four chairs and counters with cupboards to prepare food to eat.

Ashoka yawned and stretched her arms above her head before following Anakin into the kitchenette and sitting down at the table. Anakin made her breakfast, and lunch, and dinner if he didnt get a droid to do it. He always wanted her to feel at home, and she did. She often felt like his little sister and he felt the same way about her, but she did not mind, she could not think of a better big brother to have.

"We're going to be entering Coruscant's atmosphere in an hour, Ashoka." Anakin informed her. "Do you think you're up to sneaking into the Jedi temple to try and free some Jedi?"

Ashoka looked up at him in shock. "Y- you'd let me go to the Jedi temple with you?" She asked in disbelief.

Anakin smiled and nodded. "Like you said, you are sixteen."

Ashoka smiled back. "I'd love to! But... I dont know if they would recognise me."

"Of course they would, Master Plo would certainly recognise you. But remember, we cant free them. There's too many stormtroopers inside that would easily kill any Jedi that we release. But I promise they will be free soon." Anakin promised.

"I hope so. What will we do whilst we're there though? When was the last time the Jedi saw you?"

"Not sure, but they will definetly recognise me. I havent changed much. In fact, the only reason I didnt go back to see them was because I was taking care of you. But now that you're old enough, as you so rightly put it, we can both go. There is no way that I am leaving you on your own on this ship."

"I'm sure I could handle myself." Ashoka responded cockily.

"I'm sure you could, Snips." Anakin replied. "But you're a Jedi on an imperial ship. If you set foot outside of these quarters without me, then the stormtroopers will make you stay inside."

"Why cant I go anywhere without someone? I've been here for five years, dont they know me by now?"

"Of course they do, but they're under really strict orders. Dont worry, Snips. Once the empire is gone you can go anywhere you like."

Anakin placed a salad in front of Ashoka, with some shurra fruit and blue milk. She ate it slowly, Anakin could tell that she was thinking of what she could do on Coruscant. He almost laughed when she asked him a question, her face said that she had wanted to ask him something for a long time.

"How long will we be on Coruscant, Anakin?" She asked.

"A week. The same time that Vader is gone." Anakin replied.

"So... we can go to the temple all week?"

Anakin took a moment to think about it. "Perhaps. Lets just see how one visit goes first shall we?"

Ashoka smiled and nodded. Anakin could sense how excited she was to finally be going back to the temple after so long.

"Ashoka, when we get to the temple dont be surprised if the Jedi are all injured. You know what Vader does to them." Anakin advised her.

"I know, but its still so hard to imagine what they went through." Ashoka commented.

"Uh... you went through it for years didnt you?" Anakin asked.

"I know, but its been five years and Vader hasnt been the happiest guy since I arrived and you began helping me to complete my Jedi training." Ashoka said truthfully.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "We are going to defeat the empire, Ashoka, and when we do, I want you to have something to go back to." Anakin said. "Unlike me. The brother of Darth Vader? The HoloNet and politicians will love that. Someone to blame for his dark deeds."

"They wont blame you," said Ashoka. "You're the one who's going to destroy the empire, and the Jedi know all about you. They wont blame you for anything."

"I guess so," said Anakin. "you'd better hurry up so that we can get our cloaks and sneak off of the ship."

Ashoka smiled and shovelled down her food before joining Anakin by the door that led to the rest of the ship, with her cloak on. Anakin had his on also.

The door slid open to reveal the usual squad of stormtroopers standing guard outside. Anakin turned to Ashoka. "How about you practise your mind tricks on these guys?" He suggested.

Ashoka didnt need to be told twice. She waved her hand in front of the troopers and their heads turned to watch her. "You will let us both pass." She said.

"We will let you both pass." They chanted.

"You will tell no one we have gone."

"You will tell no one you have gone."

Ashoka smiled at Anakin as the troopers let them pass. They walked through the corridors unnoticed as the ship entered the atmosphere of Coruscant again, since Vader had left, and landed on the landing platform. Anakin and Ashoka departed the ship and jumped off of the back of the ship before walking in the shadows of Coruscant and making their way to the Jedi temple.

When they saw the temple, it looked terrible. There was a stream of smoke rising from it and the walls looked more like prison cells with stormtroopers patrolling outside, without actually going inside. Ashoka paused just outside of the entrance.

"Whats wrong?" Anakin asked.

"Its just..." Ashoka sighed. "What will they think of me?"

Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "They'll be happy to see you, Ashoka. It'll give them something to hope for, happieness isnt something that they have known for years."

Ashoka smiled back at him and nodded in response.

They both walked through the opened, burned and cracked doors of the Jedi temple to see that it was dimly lit. There were shadows all around, and in the entrance of the temple there were rows of Jedi sitting at the sides. Ashoka moved closer to Anakin as they walked inside, clearly nervous.

The Jedi looked up at them as they came in, and frowned when they saw that it was not Vader. Ashoka looked to her right. Anakin sensed that she was interested in the person that knelt there, watching them.

"Ashoka? What is it?" He asked quietly.

"Barris." She answered. "She was a youngling with me... I thought she was dead."

"Well lets go and talk to her."

"But I -"

"Thats why we're here, Snips."

Anakin took down the hood of his cloak to show the Jedi who he was and a few smiled weakly in recognition, then they watched Ashoka in confusion, she was hesitant to remove her hood.

Eventually, Ashoka did remove her hood and Barris gasped in recognition.

"Ashoka?" She asked weakly.

"Its me Barris." Ashoka replied.

The Jedi smiled. "I thought you were dead. The stormtroopers took you away with Vader... what happened?"

"Its a long story." Ashoka replied.

"You do have time to tell it," Anakin reminded Ashoka. "We're here all day, remember?"

The Jedi around them looked at them hopefully.

"I suppose I could tell you then," Ashoka said to Barris and, though she didnt realise it, the other Jedi in the room. "What are you going to be doing?" She asked Anakin.

"I'm going to go and find the Jedi council." Anakin replied. "They might want to stretch their legs a little."

"I thought you said we couldnt free anyone in case Vader found out?"

"Its just for a while, and since we're here we should try and help a few Jedi out at least."

"So... I can free Barris?" Ashoka asked hopefully.

"So long as Vader or Sidious dont walk in, you can free whoever you like. But theres too many stormtroopers outside, so they cant leave the temple okay?"

"Okay Anakin."

Anakin smiled and nodded. "Oh, and dont get caught." He advised.

Anakin walked up the corridor and passed a few Jedi who smiled at him through their injured faces; he smiled back at them. The corridors that led up to the council chambers were just dark and shadowed. The rooms that held other Jedi were ones that Anakin did not go into, he was too focused on getting to the council and untieing them.

When Anakin reached the door to the council chambers he could tell that they had sensed his presence, there was a lot of surprise echoing through the force from inside.

After checking that Vader was not inside, Anakin palmed open the door to find that the council members where still chained to their chairs. None of them were dead... yet.

They all looked up at him when he came in and smiled.

"Hello again, Anakin." Master Windu greeted.

"Hello," Anakin replied, walking inside. "I was wondering if you wanted me to untie you?" Anakin asked.

They all sat up a little straighter.

"What about Vader?" Ki Adi Mundi asked.

"He's with Sidious and wont be coming back here for some time. Me and Ashoka are here for a week before the Exactor leaves again." Anakin explained.

"Ashoka is alive?" Master Plo asked.

"And well. She's speaking with Barris in the entrance room right now."

"How has she been?" Shaak Ti asked.

"She's had a few nightmares about what Vader did, but other than that, she's fine. Vader hasnt hurt her and she's stayed in his quarters with me for the past five years."

There was silence for a moment.

"You said something about untieing us?" Master Windu said.

Anakin smiled. "Yes. If you want that is?"

"I think we would like that very much."

Anakin walked from Jedi to Jedi, using his lightsaber to cut them free and helping them to stand up. After sitting down for so many years, it was extremely hard to do. They all had to stretch themselves out a bit afterwards, there were many cracks and clicks from their bones.

"So, why did you decide to come here?" Master Windu asked.

"Ashoka has wanted to come back for some time, but I didnt think she was old enough until now. So I decided that we should come here. It isnt every day that Vader is gone for a whole week."

"That's true," Kit Fisto agreed.

"Where are the younglings?" Shaak Ti asked.

"They're in the rooms on the bottom floor, most of them were in the entrance room with Ashoka." Anakin informed them.

"Then that is where we should be going." Master Koth said.

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	3. Chapter 2

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 2**_

Ashoka watched Anakin go and walked over to Barris, igniting her lightsaber as she did so and quickly freed her friends hands. Barris rubbed her wrists to get some feeling back into them and tried to stand, failing as she fell back down, only to have Ashoka catch her and help her to her feet. Barris hugged Ashoka, and Ashoka hugged her back. She had not seen Barris for five years, and for those years she believed her friend to be dead. But she was alive, though she might not stay that way for long if she didnt help her.

Ashoka pulled back and smiled at her friend. "How have you been?" Barris asked her.

"I've been fine. Actually, I've been great! Anakin is a really good friend to have, and Vader didnt even try to hurt me since he was around. I cant believe you're alive, I thought you were dead!" Ashoka said with disbelief.

"I thought you were dead too, Ashoka." Barris told her. "We all did. None of us thought that Anakin would be able to keep you safe."

"He did keep me safe, more than safe." Ashoka assured her. "He even took me to Ilum so that I could build my own lightsabers."

Barris' eyes widened. "He did? How did Vader allow that?"

"He didnt. We snuck out of the ship, like we did this time. I can stay here for a week, though I dont know what we'll be doing for sleep." Ashoka said thoughtfully. "Barris I'm so sorry that I didnt come back, but Anakin thought it was too dangerous and that I was too young. I know that I was, but I really wanted to come back and free everyone."

"Dont worry, Ashoka. You're here now, and that's what counts." Barris said with a smile. "So, have you been working on taking down the empire?"

"Not yet, I was too young. But I will be soon, hopefully. There are stormtroopers outside so Anakin and I cant get anyone out, but I really wish I could." Ashoka assured her.

"Its alright Ashoka." Barris said. "So, why dont you tell us what happened after the stormtroopers took you away?"

There was a murmered agreement among the other younglings.

"Well, I guess I can tell you that." Ashoka said. "The stormtroopers took me onboard Vader's flagship, the Exactor, and put me into the brig. But, I was only in there for a minute or so before Anakin ran into the room and picked me up. I heard Vader yelling at him from the next corridor about how I had better not be much trouble and Anakin took me into his and Vader's quarters. Vader was watching me and I got scared, since I didnt know anyone, and I closed my eyes and held onto Anakin tightly. When I opened my eyes again, I was in my own chambers, which are attached to his, and he put me down carefully on the bed. He called in a medical droid to heal me and it applied bacta to my wounds and said that I should go to sleep, but I was too frightened to. Anakin and I started talking and I got to know him some more and he made me feel better, but I was still afraid of Vader. He stayed in my room whilst I slept in case Vader came in and when I woke up, he was still there. Vader didnt come in at all."

Barris smiled. "What happened for the rest of your time with him?"

"Well, after that we started talking about what Master Yoda got me to do when I was training to be a Jedi and I told him that it was usually lightsaber practise and meditation, so he told me that I had to meditate once a day so that I wouldnt be afraid anymore. He gave me a training saber and we practised with each other after I beat my first training droid. We made a daily routine of practising using the force, lightsabers and meditation. He made me breakfast every day and the rest of the time the droid would make it, if he was busy, and we became good friends."

"What is it like outside, in the galaxy?" A smaller youngling piped up.

"I dont know any specific details." Ashoka said. "But the empire is having troubles with a rebel alliance. I remember them from when they boarded the Exactor and tried to free me and Anakin, but Anakin told them to run as fast as they could because the best way for us to take down the empire was to do it from a space close to Vader. Besides from that I dont know much else. Anakin only told me to start looking at politics a month ago."

"What is it like living with Vader?" Another youngling asked.

"It isnt perfect, I'll say that. But it was actually quite fun." Ashoka admitted. "Anakin was always contradicting him and humiliating him, it was hard to hold back the laughter at some points."

"So... if Anakin was a Jedi, he would be your master then, wouldnt he?" Barris asked.

"Well, I suppose so. A lot of the things he's done is just so that when the empire is destroyed I can stay on as a Jedi and not be behind on anything."

"But we're all being held back, Ashoka."

"I know, but I havent been in the temple. Though it is a blessing that he saved me, I didnt like being in a place with only Anakin and Vader around me. But I soon got used to it, I'm not even afraid of Vader anymore, and he doesnt kill me when he sees me, thanks to Anakin."

"So, you can use a lightsaber. A _real_ lightsaber, and you can do it like Anakin can?" A youngling asked.

"Well, I'm not as good as he is, but I can hold my own against him."

There was the sound of people walking down the corridors and Ashoka ignited her lightsabers in case of danger, before she sensed that it was just Anakin and the council members. She put her lightsabers back on her belt and under her cloak as they walked into the room. Ashoka gave Master Plo a small smile as he walked over to her immediatley.

"Ashoka, how have you been?" He questioned.

"I've been fine, Master Plo." Ashoka replied. "How has Vader been?"

"You would be more qualified to say that than I am, you have lived with him."

Anakin walked over to Ashoka after finishing a conversation with Master Windu.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"They know what happened on the first day I met you," Ashoka informed him with a shrugging of her shoulders.

"The night that I stayed awake just to get you to go to sleep?"

"Yes, that night." Ashoka narrowed her eyes as she spoke. "Are any of the other Jedi going to be untied?"

"I dont know, that's for the Jedi masters to decide." Anakin said. "But there are stormtroopers guarding the temple and their lightsabers are with the emperor in his throne room."

"So... what are we going to do?" Ashoka asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. That's for you to decide at the moment, but we have to go back to the Exactor for the evenings and nights." Anakin said.

"What are the Jedi council going to do now that they're free?" Ashoka asked.

"No idea." Anakin confessed. "But I do know something that we could be doing."

"What's that?"

"Sparring. We didnt do any this morning, remember?"

"But what about..." Ashoka trailed off gesturing to Barris.

"Its alright, Ashoka. I'll watch." Barris suggested to Ashoka. Ashoka nodded and followed Anakin as they were beckoned by Master Windu to come to the council. Ashoka was slightly apprehensive about going to the Jedi council, especially when Master Yoda's eyes never left her and she could feel him using the force to sense her memories with Anakin and Vader.

"Ashoka, how have you been?" Ki-Adi Mundi asked softly.

"I've been fine." Ashoka replied.

"Did Vader hurt you?" Master Windu asked.

"No. He didnt even try too."

"What about Sidious?" Kit Fisto questioned.

"I never saw him."

They nodded in what she guessed was agreement.

"Have you both got any ideas on how to bring down the empire?" Master Windu asked.

"If we kill Sidious, then Vader would rise to the throne. But if Sidious dies, then either Vader or a close family member can become the emperor." Anakin informed them. "If I become emperor then I can take down the empire easily."

"And if that fails?"

"We need to kill Vader and Sidious."

"How close are you to achieving that?"

"Killing Vader wont be much of a problem, I dont think, but killing Sidious will be a problem."

"Have you made any attempts on his life so far?"

"No. If it failed then Ashoka's life would have been forfeit."

"What about Vader's apprentice? Starkiller?"

"Starkiller doesnt usually come on board the Exactor. The only time he did was to speak with Vader and then he left quickly afterwards. Has he been here?"

"Almost as much as Vader is." Kit Fisto said. "Are you sure that he is not here now?"

"I didnt even know he came here," Anakin admitted. "I'll check just to make sure."

"Dont bother Skywalker!" A loud voice boomed from behind them. Anakin and Ashoka whirled around the see Starkiller standing on a window ledge glaring down at them. "What are you both doing here?!" He called down to them.

"Oh, you know, we thought we'd take a stroll." Anakin said sarcastically. "What do you think we're doing here?"

Starkiller's eyes narrowed. "Lord Vader will not be pleased by this."

"Lord Vader doesnt have to know." Anakin contradicted.

"He will." Starkiller declared. "You should have known that there would be more than stormtroopers guarding the Jedi temple."

"Your outnumbered, Starkiller." Anakin advised.

"By who? You and the youngling cannot defeat me."

"Come down here and we'll see about that." Anakin said dangerously.

Starkiller smirked. "You dont know what you're getting yourselves into."

"Stop stalling, Starkiller. You're acting like a coward, and that isnt how your father was."

Starkiller went rigid. "You know nothing about fathers, Skywalker, you have none. Just a sith of a brother and a whore of a mother."

"Either you come down here or we come up there."

Starkiller's mouth twisted into an evil smirk. "As you wish." He leapt down to the space in front of them and ignited his two lightsabers. Anakin and Ashoka ignited theirs.

"Ten minutes in the temple undisturbed, I'm impressed." Starkiller mocked. He took a strike at Ashoka, who easily blocked it, and disarmed one of his lightsabers easily. Starkiller's jaw dropped. "The youngling -?"

"I'm not so young anymore." Ashoka cut across him.

Anakin knocked the other lightsaber out of Starkillers hand and held his lightsaber blade to Starkiller's throat. "Any ideas?" He asked Master Windu.

"We could wipe his memory." Master Windu said. "But that will take time."

"I think we have enough," Anakin commented. "but when Vader doesnt hear from Starkiller he's going to go straight to his quarters. Ashoka and I need to get back. Do you think you can handle him?"

"There are far more of us than there are of him." Kit Fisto commented. "And we actually have some lightsabers now."

"But first, we need to talk with Ashoka." Master Windu stated. "Starkiller will be put in a holding cell until then."

"Alright. I'll wait by the door for Ashoka." Anakin said.

* * *

Anakin stood by the door, watching the stormtroopers as they walked past, when he sensed that Ashoka had returned.

She seemed both startled and happy.

Anakin turned to see her and she looked as though she was thinking about something when she walked up to him. He noticed that there was a braid in her hair now and he frowned. Jedi only wore those when-

Anakin's heart clenched. The council had assigned her a master. Well, at least they had moved her up in the ranks and he was happy for her-

"Anakin?" Ashoka gathered his attention. Anakin looked at her, not realising that he had looked at the floor, lost in his own thoughts.

"Ashoka." Anakin replied. "Nice padawan braid." He commented.

Ashoka smiled slightly at him. "Thanks... you do realise that I could read your thoughts right now, dont you?"

"Yes." Anakin replied.

"Well, I dont exactly have a master." She said.

Anakin frowned at her.

"The council made me your apprentice." She informed him. Anakin's eyes widened.

"I thought they could only make you the apprentice of a Jedi?" He asked.

"That's what I have to tell you... the council decided that, since I've been in your care for so long, I can be your apprentice anyway. You're the chosen one and they said that you dont have to be a Jedi for me to be your apprentice. They also said something about sorting out an arrangement once the empire is destroyed." She said, smiling at him. "Isnt it great? You're actually my master and I'm your apprentice."

Anakin smiled back at her, unable to believe what she'd just said. "I- I'm going to be your master?" He asked. Ashoka grinned and nodded at him. "Wait, is this even allowed?"

"Over half of the order has been killed, the empire is in power. The code has been amended for us, just this once."

"Thats- thats-" Anakin had no idea what to say. "Thats wonderful!" Anakin said at last.

Ashoka blushed and smiled up at him. "What about Vader? Wont he realise?" She questioned, her smile fading.

"Vader wont care. To him, you've always been my apprentice. Since the moment I saved you from him, that's what he thinks. He told me that the force wanted me to save you so that I could teach you what I know, and then you can teach your apprentice and so on." Anakin informed her. "But, will of the force or not, I'm glad you're my apprentice." Anakin smiled at Ashoka.

Ashoka smiled back.

"I'm glad you're my master, Anakin." Ashoka replied.

Anakin could not have felt happier at any moment in his life. He had an apprentice, Ashoka was his apprentice. He could not say how much it meant to him, or how long he had wanted for her to be his apprentice.

But now she was, and it had to be the best day of his life so far.

There was a beeping noise from somewhere outside of the temple and, to Anakin's horror, he saw that it was one of Vader's commanders. He was going into the temple for a usual check up, and Anakin cursed outloud quietly. Only Ashoka could hear him.

"We have to go." Anakin said. "Now."


	4. Chapter 3

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 3**_

Anakin could sense how frustrated Ashoka was from in the kitchenette. She was sat on the couch in the lounge watching the HoloNet and a report about the Jedi temple had just come on. It seemed that Vader had found Starkiller, locked in a cell, and tortured the Jedi to find out who had done it.

One of the Jedi knights had 'confessed' to doing it and Vader had killed him in front of the, newly bound, Jedi council. There was also much more security around the temple now, so it was going to be harder to get inside; if Anakin even decided that it was safe enough for them both to go back there.

Vader would be returning to his quarters soon, and Anakin and Ashoka were not looking forward to it. He would be fuming by now, angry at what had happened. One could only imagine what Starkiller had gone through as punishment for being overpowered by a few defenceless Jedi with a few mind tricks.

Ashoka had also heard on the HoloNet that every unbound Jedi had been tortured ruthlessly, including her friend Barris. Her anger had radiated through the force like a wildfire and Anakin had decided that he should make her dinner so that she could calm down, though that did not seem likely with the HoloNet on.

With a wave of his hand, Anakin turned off the HoloNet from the kitchenette, making Ashoka groan in annoyance.

"What's wrong with watching the HoloNet?" She called to him.

"When something like that is on, everything." Anakin called back, finishing making their dinner.

Anakin walked back into the lounge and handed Ashoka her dinner. Sitting beside her with his own, Anakin used the force to turn on a HoloVid. One about life before the empire.

Ashoka just picked at her food and Anakin, eventually, decided to talk with her about the temple; he had not spoken of it because he knew that there was next to no chance of Ashoka going back now, she needed more practise.

"Ashoka, if you dont eat you wont be able to keep your strength up, and if you dont do that we cant go back to the temple." Anakin told her.

Ashoka sighed. "I just cant believe things went so badly." She said. "Now we wont be able to go back again, they must be really upset."

"They're not upset, Ashoka. They thought you were dead for five years, only to find that you have been with me the whole time and that you can handle Starkiller easily on your own. He didnt last five seconds before you disarmed him."

"But what if they're disappointed with me for not helping them escape?"

"Disappointed? Ashoka, you survived in _Vader's_ quarters for five years. You went to Ilum and made your own lightsabers, kept up your usual Jedi training and became the only Jedi who Vader wont harm or kill."

Ashoka gave him a small smile. "I suppose so. But, if we do go back to the temple, what will we be doing? Its not as if we can untie anyone now."

"Well, I suppose we can just talk to them. Make the Jedi happier." Anakin suggested. "You do have a lot to talk about with the Jedi council, like what you were doing for the five years you were gone."

"But, if I talk with them, wont they want to be untied?"

"They cant be. They're bound to their chairs by ray shielded cuffs that keep their wrists on their arm rests. To free any Jedi then we would have to steal the key, which is in the emperors throne room. A place you wont be going any time soon."

"I know." Ashoka said. "So... we are going back?"

"I'll take you there tomorrow, yes. But if the security is as tight as people say, the best you're going to get is a days visit with a few days in between, and we're only here for one week."

Ashoka nodded and began eating. The HoloVid had gotten to the point where the senate was in session. Chancellor Palpatine had just been elected and disgust quickly filled Anakin's soul.

"I dont think I can watch this," He said, gesturing to Sidious' disguise. Ashoka nodded in agreement and the HoloVid was turned off. Anakin stretched his arms out above his head. "Do you have any ideas of things to do?"

"None. What about you?"

Anakin smirked. "You need to do your hour of meditation, Snips."

"What? After what happened today? I cant -"

"Yes, you can." Anakin told her.

Anakin stood up and placed his, now empty, plate in the sink. When he walked back into the lounge, Ashoka was sat on the couch looking at him curiously. He could feel a question about to be asked.

"Anakin," Ashoka began. "What happened in the temple? The day that Sidious took you there?" She asked.

Anakin's eyes widened at the question, before he relaxed. "Well, lets see. I broke my brothers nose, which was hard since he's in that suit, and became friends with the Jedi."

"Can you explain it any better?"

"Well, alright. I will. So, I was sat in here actually. I was fourteen years old and just finished watching a HoloVid..."

* * *

Anakin's face had finally been cleared of his tears after watching the three hour long HoloVid. His mother had just died and the effect on him had been almost overwhelming. He would have spent days crying if his brother, Vader, had not comforted him before being pulled away to the imperial palace on Coruscant to speak with his master and do some empire stuff that Anakin knew nothing about.

The HoloVid had just finished and Anakin was putting it back into its case when there was a chime at the door to his and Vader's quarters. Curious, Anakin placed the case with the HoloVid back onto the shelf and walked to the door, palming it open.

The emperor was stood on the other side in a cloak and gave him a creepy smile when Anakin looked up at him.

"Hello, your highness." Anakin greeted.

"Hello, young one." The emperor replied. "There is something that I would like to show you."

"Really? What is it?" Anakin asked curiously.

"Its a surprise." The emperor said. "Come with me and I will show you."

"What about Vader? I'm not allowed to leave our quarters."

"He will not mind. Now come."

Anakin hesitantly followed the emperor off of the ship, through the streets of Coruscant and towards a badly damaged temple. It had smoke rising from the surface and stormtroopers patrolling outside it. Anakin frowned. It looked like a prison. A terrible, terrible prison.

The emperor led Anakin inside and Anakin gasped when he saw rows of people at the sides with their hands bound behind their backs and their bodies covered with their own blood and sweat.

They had been tortured.

Anakin turned back to the emperor. "What happened to them?" He asked.

"They have been imprisoned and tortured by Darth Vader." The emperor informed him.

Anakin froze.

"He wouldnt do that." Anakin said.

The emperor cackled at the young boys distress. "He has already done it. He tortures them when he is feeling sad; he is a sith."

"I dont believe you." Anakin spoke.

"Oh, but your brother has done these things. Terrible things." The emperor said.

Anakin looked at the Jedi around him, and they looked up at him in despair. Looking towards someone who they believed would soon become the emperors newest apprentice, the brother of Darth Vader.

"Why would he do this?" Anakin asked. "Was it because our mother just died?"

The emperor cackled again. "Died? No, no, my boy. Your mother was murdered." Anakin looked at the emperor in shock. "Your mother was murdered by your brother himself."

Anakin's world came crashing down around him. Vader had murdered their mother? No. He wouldnt have, he couldnt.

"Perhaps the Jedi council would explain what Vader has done to them for you?" The emperor offered.

Anakin merely looked at the emperor with a depressed stare. The emperor nodded and led Anakin through corridors. Corridors with blood stains on the floor and lightsaber cuts on the walls. They finally came to a stop outside of some closed doors.

The emperor turned to Anakin. "Your brother has been torturing these people for years now. Vader does not care for anyone but himself. He doesnt even care about you, the precious chosen one."

Anakin could only look at the floor as sadness and despair flooded his system.

The doors opened to reveal a semi-circle of chairs with people bound to them who looked as bad as the others in the entrance room. They looked up at them and glared defiantly at the emperor, whilst watching Anakin with pitiful looks, and curious ones.

"You see? Vader has been torturing them to make himself feel better. He does not care for you, or your mother. That is why he killed her."

"But she was his mother too." Anakin said. "And his father -"

"Is not your father. You are the chosen one, and your brother is afraid of your power." The emperor said. The people in the room sat up straight and watched Anakin in surprise. "Why not prove your power? And kill him?"

"You mean... become a sith?"

"Yes, why not?"

Anakin thought about it for a moment. "That doesnt sound like a very good idea."

"Think on it." The emperor said. "I will go and see how the others are doing."

Anakin could have sworn he saw some of the people in the room flinch at the emperors words. Once the emperor had left the room he heard a voice behind him.

"You should not become a sith."

Anakin turned around to see that it was a man dressed in a white tunic, stained with blood. "I'm not sure I want to become anything." Anakin said honestly. "But I cant think of any reasons to tell the emperor."

The man smiled. "You are too nice for your own good, young one." Anakin blushed. "Would you like to hear some reasons from us?"

"Yes please." Anakin replied.

"Very well." The man said. "My name is Mace Windu, a Jedi master."

"What's a Jedi?"

"Defenders of peace in the galaxy, or peacekeepers if you prefer. We use the light side of the force, whilst the sith use the dark side."

"What is so bad about the dark side of the force?"

"The dark side is used to subdue and gain power. The light side is used to preserve and maintain things. Think of the dark side as bad and the light side as good."

"So, the emperor imprisoned the Jedi because he's a sith and you're enemies who threaten his empire?"

"Yes, exactly that."

"Where do you live?" A different Jedi asked.

"On board my brothers ship, the Exactor."

"Does he ever let you out?"

"No. I'm not allowed to leave."

"Then he is most likely keeping you prisoner." Another Jedi said.

"Why would he do that?"

"According to an old legend, there will be someone who is born of the force to destroy the sith. That person will be known as the chosen one."

"That's what the emperor and Vader call me."

"How long have they done that?"

"Since before I was born."

"What is your midi-chlorine count?"

"No one knows. Its off the scale."

"Then you might very well be the chosen one." Master Windu said. "Why did the emperor bring you here?"

"I dont know. He just said that he had something to show me and that it was a surprise, but I dont think its a very good one though."

The Jedi smiled at him. "No, it is not a very good one."

Anakin noticed that there was an empty chair in the room and asked Master Windu. "What happened to the Jedi who sat there?"

Master Windu looked at him sadly. "That was where Master Yoda used to sit. The emperor took him to his palace and keeps him in a cage as his pet."

* * *

Anakin yawned and glanced at the chrono, realising how late it was. Ashoka was watching him in shock, he had never told her what happened to Master Yoda before. She wondered why, then, the old Jedi master had been in the Jedi temple.

"What happened after that? And why was Master Yoda at the Jedi temple if he was kept in a cage in the imperial palace?" Ashoka asked eagerly. Anakin chuckled at her. Ashoka always wanted to know so much about what happened at the Jedi temple. Since she had just been in a small room with a few other younglings that were rarely tortured, only brought out to be killed, she did not know much about them. She had been a very small child when Anakin had been there first.

"The emperor puts him back into the temple once every few years to see the suffering of the Jedi, but by now I'd expect that he is back in his cage at the imperial palace. That's going to be one of the more difficult things, Snips. Freeing Master Yoda will not be easy, especially since he is so close to the emperor and his guards." Anakin explained.

Ashoka sighed. "Who will be freed first? The Jedi in the temple or Master Yoda?" She asked.

"Let me think about it." Anakin said.

Ashoka seemed ready to ask him something when she yawned, stiffling it behind her hand and trying to hide it, but failing miserabley.

"Bed." Anakin said to Ashoka.

"I'm not tired." Ashoka protested.

"You wouldnt be yawning if you werent, now go to bed and we can talk more in the morning. Okay?"

Ashoka rolled her eyes. "Fine. But we are going back to the temple arent we?"

"I should think so."

Ashoka walked towards her chambers when she stopped and turned back to Anakin. "Master, what have the Jedi eaten?" She asked him.

Anakin noticeably twitched at the use of the word 'master'. "I dont know, nothing I suppose. But then your friend Barris wouldnt have survived. We'll ask them about it tomorrow, and dont call me master, Snips. It makes me sound like I'm your superior, and I'm not; I'm your friend."

"Okay, Anakin." Ashoka replied. "What if they want to eat something?"

"We'll go out and get them something."

"I dont have any credits."

"I'll go out and buy things, you stay at the temple. Coruscant is a dangerous enough place as it is, the temple will most likely be the safest place for you, being a Jedi and all."

"You never let me do any of the dangerous things." Ashoka complained.

"You arent ready for the dangers of the empire, Ashoka. The temple is a way of testing your abilities."

"So I can fight the empire with you soon?"

"Lets see what happens after Vader returns shall we?" Anakin advised. "Now go to bed. Its late and I'm turning in myself."

Ashoka sighed and walked into her own chambers. Anakin entered his and quickly got ready for bed.

He laid on his back and thought about whether or not Ashoka was really ready to fight the empire. She had proven herself more times than he could say and she was more skilled than any of the Jedi younglings, though she was not one anymore and they had not fought for years. Now Ashoka was a padawan learner, to him of all people. He was no Jedi, that was for sure, but he was the last hope that the Jedi had. And now so was Ashoka.

With a sigh, Anakin closed his eyes and let himself slip into unconsciousness. He would decide whether or not to start thinking about how to take down the empire with Ashoka in the morning, and if they did, he would have to take Ashoka away from the Exactor to a safer place.


	5. Chapter 4

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 4**_

Anakin awoke to the sound of a loud bang and bolted out of bed to see if Ashoka was alright.

Upon entering her room, he saw that she had just woken up, like he had, and looked confused. Anakin let out the breath he had held in, thinking that Ashoka had been harmed, and walked to the door, palming it open to reveal the lounge.

Ashoka made to stand up, but Anakin stopped her with a gesture when he saw that it was Vader; he had thrown an astromech droid across the room. He looked at Anakin with the usual aura of darkness swirling around him, before walking into his chambers on the other side of the room and closing the door behind him.

Anakin looked towards the broken astromech droid in pity. It was blue and white, and had probably infuriated Vader by simply being in its path. Anakin felt sorry for it.

"What happened, Anakin?" Ashoka asked, still on her bed.

"An astromech droid." Anakin answered truthfully. "Vader threw it across the room... I wonder if we should fix it?"

"At three in the morning?" Ashoka asked rhetorically. "Can't it wait?" She said with a yawn.

"It can." Anakin replied. "Go back to sleep, Snips. We'll look at it in the morning."

Ashoka nodded sleepily and laid back down on her bed, pulling the covers back over her as she did so and closed her eyes.

Anakin closed the door and went back to his own chambers. Tiredly, he flopped down on his bed and fell asleep quickly, half of his body not covered by his duvet.

When Anakin awoke, he could sense Vader's dark force presence still in his chambers. Fast asleep. He could also sense that Ashoka was still asleep.

Anakin glanced at the chrono beside his bed and saw that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Not as early as he had first thought it to be. With a groan, Anakin got out of bed and walked into Ashoka's room. She had an arm flung across her eyes and the sheets had been kicked to the floor in the night. Anakin watched her as she slept and realised that Ashoka was actually _thiner_ than most of the Jedi in the temple; they didnt get to eat what she did, so why was she so thin?

Thinking, Anakin backtracked to the meals that Ashoka ate. She did eat her meals, just not that much of them. It was usually because she was thinking of the order and what she had gone through as a young child, but they were going up against the empire and she needed her strength. Which she clearly wasn't getting.

Frowning, Anakin gently shook Ashoka awake and watched as she sleepily opened her eyes. He could tell that she had actually been having a peacful sleep, for once.

"Anakin, can I have five more minutes?" She asked tiredly. Anakin smiled at her.

"I would let you, but you need to eat something." Anakin informed her. "I didn't notice it before, but there are Jedi at the temple who arent as thin as you are, and they eat force knows what. Which means you barely eat."

Ashoka sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes as she woke up fully. "I do eat." She said at last.

"Not enough, it would seem." Anakin contradicted her. "If you want to go back to Coruscant today, you have to eat _all_ of your breakfast. Not a quarter of it."

"You never seemed to mind how much I ate before." said Ashoka.

"I wasnt going to let you fight the empire with me before." Anakin told her. Ashoka looked up at him in confusion, and he watched as she slowly came to terms with what he had just said; she smiled up at him.

"I can help you now?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, you can." Anakin replied. Ashoka beamed at him. "But you should eat your breakfast first. I'm going to go and work on the astromech droid, see if I can get it back together. Dont go back to sleep."

Anakin walked out of the room and strolled towards the small heap that was the astromech droid that Vader had lost his temper with the night before. The dome of the droid was still intact, as was its body. There were just a few wires scattered here and there that suggested the droid could not function properly. It looked as though it had been through quite a bit when Vader had gotten a hold of it. There were burn marks on its dome and a fair bit of dirt on its body; there were also signs of its memory being read.

Carefully, Anakin removed the dome from the droid and placed the wires around it back into their original positions. Ashoka walked past him on her way to get her breakfast and delivered a sharp kick to his leg for waking her before rushing into the kitchenette, a string of huttese curses hot on her heels.

Rubbing his leg to sooth the pain, Anakin fitted the last of the wires inside of the little droid and attempted to activate it. A few lights came on and the translator at the front of the droid showed its distress at not being able to see, speak or hear anything around it.

Anakin picked up the dome and gently placed it onto the droid, attaching it back in its original place as the droid regained control of its top and watched Anakin curiously. It let out a few defiant beeps at him and Anakin frowned in confusion. Ashoka walked back into the room with a bowl of food in her hands and looked at the droid with an impressed look on her face.

"Hey, you actually got it to work." She commented, sitting down on the couch that the droid was propped up against. The droid continued to beep defiantly about things that Anakin was confused about.

"Woah, woah." Anakin stopped the droid. "We arent working with Vader." He informed the droid.

The droid beeped rudely in response, making Ashoka laugh at its comment. Anakin glared up at her.

"We arent." Anakin persisted. "I'm Anakin Skywalker, and this is my friend Ashoka Tano."

"Apprentice." Ashoka corrected. "I'm your apprentice now." She reminded him.

The droid beeped softly in recognition and Ashoka leaned forwards to listen to it.

"What do you mean we're famous?" She asked it curiously. The droid beeped again. "What's the rebel alliance?"

"Oh, Snips." Anakin commented. "The rebel alliance is the group of rebels that tried to free us, remember? But we stayed so that we could keep an eye on Vader."

"The dudes with the funny looking helmets?" Ashoka asked.

The droid beeped rudely at her and it was Anakin's turn to laugh. The droid gave them a long series of beeps and boops about what it meant by saying that they were famous.

"I'm known as the Jedi of hope?" Ashoka asked in mock annoyance. "That's new."

"At least you arent known as 'The Hero With No Fear'." Anakin responded. "What's your number droid?"

The droid beeped at him.

"R2-D2?" Anakin recited.

"R2 for short." Ashoka said happily.

The droid beeped about its mistress calling it that.

"Senator Amidala is your mistress." Anakin said. "So how did you get here? Senator Amidala is one of the main leaders for the rebel alliance. She isnt here too is she?"

The droid gave out some complicated beeps.

Ashoka frowned. She did not know what he had said.

"He says that their fighter was badly damaged. Senator Amidala was saved by her friends but Vader managed to steal him and tried to find out information from him, and now he's on his way to Yavin 4 to destroy a rebel base." Anakin explained to her.

"But, if he's on his way to Yavin 4, doesnt that mean that we're leaving Coruscant?" Ashoka asked.

"Yes. It does." A booming voice said from the doorway to Vader's chambers. Anakin turned around and Ashoka looked up.

Vader was awake.

The droid beeped some rude things at Vader and Ashoka kicked its dome to get it to be silent, giving it a look that plainly said _dont get yourself into trouble_. Vader smirked, his voicebox made it sound like a strange noise, but they knew what it was.

"You would be wise to listen to her, R2-D2. Though how they got as much information out of you willingly I'll never know." He commented, walking to the entrance of the kitchenette. "Nice padawan braid." He added, before disappearing into the kitchenette. Ashoka looked at Anakin in confusion.

"He seems happy today." She commented.

"He's always happy when they find out about a major rebel base." Anakin informed her. "The last time he found one was before you came here, and I actually got to fly a starfighter because he was in such a happy mood."

"Why didnt you try to fly away?"

"Because there were people flying with me. He isnt an idiot, Snips." Anakin explained.

"Fair enough," said Ashoka.

R2 beeped at them again, about stopping Vader from destroying the rebel base.

"We cant, R2. There's too many officers on this ship and if we even get a foot on the planet it will be a miracle. The only time we can ever sneak off the ship is when it is actually touching down on a planet, which it most likely wont be doing on Yavin 4." Anakin told the droid.

"You sneak off the ship?" Vader asked, coming back into the room with his own breakfast.

"Only when boredom becomes too much to bare." Anakin said honestly. "But we're still here arent we?"

"Yes, because I would find you if you did not return." Vader said, sitting down at the second couch. "Arent you hungry?"

"No." Anakin said. His stomach grumbled loudly in protest and Anakin heard Ashoka snickering from behind him.

"You were saying?" She asked him happily. Anakin gave her a short glare before standing up and stretching out his arms.

"How long is it until we reach Yavin, Vader?" Anakin asked.

"Two days." He replied.

"From Coruscant?" Ashoka questioned.

"We arent on Coruscant anymore. I returned because the ship was departing the atmosphere." Vader spoke matter-of-factly.

"When you threw R2 across the room?" Anakin asked.

Vader said nothing in response and began to eat; his helmet was off to reveal his dark brown hair, which contrasted with Anakin's dark blonde hair. Anakin wondered why he wore the suit sometimes and decided now was as good a time as any to ask about it, seeing as he was able to move around without it whenever he was in their quarters.

"Vader, why do you weat that suit?" Anakin asked.

"Because my lungs where damaged by lava on Mustafar," Vader replied. "I do not have to wear them in here because it is an oxegon rich area. Making it easier to train padawans in your case." Vader added looking from Anakin to Ashoka and back again.

"She is not my padawan." Anakin said. "She is my apprentice. There is a difference, since I am not a Jedi."

"At least you know one thing." Vader commented. Ashoka barely restrained the smile that crept upon her face; Anakin could sense it through the force and glanced at her over his shoulder.

R2 beeped again, not wanting to be forgotten, and asked when he was going to see his mistress again. Anakin opened his mouth to deliver the sad news when Vader cut across him.

"You will not be seeing her again. She is an enemy of the empire and a traitor. You were lucky that my brother decided to put you back together, droid, or you would have been incinerated with the other droids that were recovered."

Anakin looked at the droid sadly, knowing that what Vader had said was most likely the truth. But, Anakin silently vowed, once the empire had been destroyed he would take the droid back to its mistress, if she survived to see him again. Ashoka stiffled a yawn behind her hand again.

"I still dont see why you had to wake me up," She said. "I was actually sleeping peacefully for once."

Anakin looked up at her. "I thought you got your revenge by kicking me in the shin when I was putting R2 back together." said Anakin.

"You swore at me ten times for doing it." Ashoka reminded him. "So you still owe me."

"To be fair I swore at you nine times." Anakin corrected her. Ashoka rolled her eyes and resumed eating her breakfast. She made to stop after eating a quarter of it before Anakin gave her a strict look and she began eating again.

Vader left the room, having finished his breakfast, and disappeared into the kitchenette for a few seconds before re-appearing, armour free. The kitchenette was attached to a room where Vader could take off his suit so that he could eat easily. He then walked into his office, a place that Ashoka had never been in and Anakin had only been in once, and the door closed shut behind him. Locking as it did so. Anakin sighed and began walking towards the kitchenette to get himself something to eat.

He had not trusted Vader to be alone with Ashoka and did not leave because of it.

"Finish your breakfast, Snips." Anakin advised, just shy of entering the kitchenette. "Then I'll stop nagging you about your health, for once."

Anakin entered the kitchenette and made his own breakfast slowly, thinking about what had gone on in the Jedi temple a day before. Ashoka had wanted to go back to her former home for a long time, and she finally had. But the emotions that he had sensed from her were not what he had expected. He had expected happieness and excitment, not nervousness and embarrassment.

When he went back into the lounge he found Ashoka and R2 engaged in a conversation about what the rebel alliance was. Anakin remembered that Ashoka had only been on the Exactor for a month before the alliance had come to rescue her, having heard of a Jedi youngling being saved from death by the hands of Vader's brother.

Now the alliance was dead set on rescuing the both of them, knowing that they were both now fully able to fight the empire, and there had been numerous attempts where the alliance had attacked Vader's flagship. Unfortunatley, Vader's forces had been too great and the alliance had been unable to board the ship. Anakin did recieve a hologram from Bail Organa on one occasion though, telling him that now that Ashoka was able to fight, having made her lightsabers, the alliance wanted them to fight against the empire. Anakin had not replied, since Organa had already retreated, but he did agree that Ashoka was ready to fight. Just not against something like the empire.

But that had been when Ashoka had been fourteen. She had made her lightsabers when she was thirteen and the alliance had learned of it a year afterwards, and rejoiced in the fact that Anakin had actually begun teaching Ashoka how to fight and defend herself, instead of Vader using her as another sith apprentice. Anakin had sensed their joy from star systems away; he had even heard of it on the HoloNet.

It hadnt just been the alliance that was rejoicing, it was half of the galaxy.

There were reports of people rioting in the streets saying that there was still hope against the empire and that one Jedi had been saved, and that she and Anakin would save them from Sidious. Vader had responded by a hefty argument with Anakin about Ashoka, which Anakin had won, about her having real lightsabers. Anakin agreed that she would not be allowed to use them in their quarters unless it was for practise or self defence.

R2 beeped something interesting at Ashoka, who frowned as she thought about the question.

"Well, I suppose Vader can be a little annoying at times, but I dont really know. I tend to stay to my own things, unlike you." Ashoka replied.

R2 beeped proudly and Ashoka smiled at the droid.

Anakin sat down beside her, wondering just how long they had been talking about the rebel alliance.

"Anakin," Ashoka began. "R2 says that the alliance have been trying to rescue us both for two years now. When did that happen?"

"On more than one occasion, Snips." Anakin replied. "But I guess I could tell you all about the alliance, now that you're old enough."

"Are you going to keep saying that to get back at me?" Ashoka asked.

"Yes. I am." Anakin said truthfully. "The alliance first came a month after you were brought here, trying to save you from Vader, and from me. They thought that I was like Vader, a sith and in league with the empire. But when they arrived at the door, they broke it down and saw me and you playing a game together. They were led by Bail Organa, and he stopped his troopers to talk to me. I told him that I was as much a prisoner here as you are and he said that we should both go with him, but I said no. If we left, then Vader would come after us, and believe me he would have found us." Anakin explained.

"You would have been tortured or killed for running off, which was not something I was prepared to do. He did not agree but the stormtroopers were hot on his tail and he swore that he would come back the moment you were able to fight. You made your lightsabers when you were thirteen, as you know, but no one else in the galaxy besides from me and Vader knew until you defended yourself from a bunch of pirates that foolishly tried to raid the ship, not knowing that this was Vader's flagship. The galaxy found out about it and half of the galaxy started fighting the empire because they did not know that any Jedi was actually free, and they had lost hope. The imperials quickly squashed most of the rebellions, whilst the ones that survived joined the alliance to try and find us both and free us. "Anakin remembered.

"Whilst most of the crew on the ship were asleep, the alliance started their first attack. The ship barely survived and the alliance had to retreat when their main command ships were taken out. They tried again and again but did not get as far as they had on the first attempt. Bail sent me a message saying that he was going to rescue us no matter what, but I could not reply. He had alraedy fled from the battle. The last time that they tried to free us was when we were in the space above Dantooine."

"Vader said that those ships were just rogues." Ashoka remembered. "I didnt know that it was the alliance."

"It probably isnt the best idea to believe anything that Vader says, Snips."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to do some meditation. Maybe the force will tell me whether or not Barris is still alive." Ashoka said hopefully.

She left the room and walked into her chambers before R2 booped at Anakin about mechanics and engineering. Anakin smiled at the droid.

"You think you're the best huh?" He asked. "What things have you done?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 5**_

Ashoka's meditation had proved uneventful so far. She had just been buffeted by the happy emotions of Anakin, as always, who was in the room closest to her. She was just about to pull out of her meditational trance when some very disturbing images reached her mind.

Barris was being tortured by someone in a cloak. Starkiller. He was blaming her for disarming him. She was the only youngling who had been unbound and Starkiller could remember a youngling attacking him with a Jedi master, or so he thought.

Barris screamed and screamed but did not say a word about Anakin or Ashoka. Ashoka could feel her emotions through the force and her mind frantically whispering the same words to her over and over again.

_They will free us. They will free us. They will free us._

Ashoka was becoming very distraught and tried to pull away from the vision, but it was not working. There was a faint scuffling sound in the background of her vision but she paid it no attention. Barris was screaming and sreaming, the younglings around her yelling at Starkiller to stop what he was doing and leave her alone.

Suddenly, the vision turned completely white. Barris' emotions were lost to her and the white turned to black within seconds. Ashoka could feel herself shaking and sweating; she realised that the black she could see was her own eyelids and slowly opened them.

Anakin was crouched in front of her with his hands on her shoulders, watching her in concern. When Ashoka looked at him he smiled up at her weakly. Unable to reel her emotions back in, Ashoka broke down right there. Tears spilled out onto her cheeks and she curled up into a ball to try and protect herself from the, now distant, emotions that she had felt from Barris.

She barely noticed when Anakin took her into his arms and held her close, his head resting on hers. Ashoka could sense a dark presence coming closer and tensed up, thinking that it was Starkiller torturing Barris, but soon realised that it was merely Vader, wondering what was causing what he had sensed through the force.

There was the sound of a door opening, but Ashoka paid it no attention and continued to cry. There was the distant sound of a conversation in her ears and she slowly regained her senses once more. Anakin and Vader were talking with one another whilst Anakin held her. She could not catch any specific words, only what they were talking about.

Vader had asked what had happened and Anakin had explained that she had seen something horrible during her meditation. Vader was asking Anakin what she had seen but when Anakin told him that Ashoka had yet to say anything he nodded and left the room. Anakin turned his attention back to Ashoka and gently rocked her backwards and forwards, tucking his face down next to hers to assure her that he was there and that everything was going to be fine.

She did not know how long she was crying, and she did not care. The visions of Barris would just not go away, and she knew that she could not tell Anakin what had happened without starting to cry. Soon, her tears stopped to flow. Slowly, Ashoka reached up and dried the tears that were still on her face and sucked in a shaky breath, trying to calm herself.

Now the images of Barris being tortured had no detail. It was as if Anakin's presence had removed them from her mind, for which she was grateful. Determined not to think about Barris, Ashoka tried thinking about other things. She realised, sadly, that this new development might cause Anakin to rethink letting her help him destroy the emprie, which she desperatley wanted to do. But it wasnt as if she hadnt cried before, she had cried more times than she could count over the years.

Anakin pulled back slightly to look at her, and Ashoka tightened her grip on him, afraid that he was going to leave. Anakin hugged her again, reassuring her that he wasnt going anywhere, before pulling away very slowly to look at her. Ashoka permitted him to pull away this time, her subconscious now certain that he was going nowhere.

"Ashoka, what happened?" He asked. "I could sense your distress from the other room, and so could Vader. What did you see?"

Ashoka stared at him blankly before burying her face in his chest once more. She knew she would not be able to tell him without crying, and that had just been confirmed when a new stream of tears began to flow down her face. Anakin gently rubbed her back and waited for her to say something, which, eventually, she did.

"I-I saw Starkiller, he w-was torturing B-Barris. S-she was s-screaming a-a-and I could feel her p-pain." Ashoka said shakily, trying to bring herself together. "H-he thinks that s-s-she was the o-one who d-dis-disarmed him. I-It was m-me. I-Its m-m-my fault!" Ashoka burst into a new flood of tears and Anakin held her close again. Anakin shushed her quietly and Ashoka managed to stop her sobbing.

"It's not your fault, Ashoka." Anakin assured her. "His memories are fragmented, he could have blamed anyone. It just so happened that he blamed Barris."

Ashoka shook her head frantically. "H-he remembered that it was a youngling. H-he remembered that I was a youngling and B-Barris was the only youngling untied!"

"No, she wasnt. There were others that were untied. Ones that were the most severely injured. It's only a coincidence, Ashoka."

Ashoka clutched him tighter. "Please dont make me meditate again." She pleaded with him. "I cant take it. Please. I cant see that again."

Anakin nodded. "You dont have too, its okay." Anakin told her. "Do you want to stay in here or come with me to R2?" He asked her gently.

"C-come with you to R2." She answered.

Anakin stood up slowly, taking Ashoka with him, and placed her gently on her feet. She almost fell back down, her legs being unstable, before Anakin caught her and supported her in his arms, leading her towards the lounge. R2 was watching them from the floor beside the couch, watching them in concern, Ashoka guessed, and beeped sadly when he saw them both re-enter the room. Ashoka's tear stained face looking sadly at the floor.

R2 beeped again.

"She'll be fine, R2. A friend of ours was in one of her visions, being tortured." Anakin explained. "Could you go and get some shurra fruit from the kitchenette? They're in the cupboard to the right of the sink. Thanks."

R2 booped, turned and headed into the kitchenette. Anakin sat Ashoka down on the couch and sat beside her; she curled into his embrace tightly and shut her eyes tightly, willing it all to go away. She was thankful that Anakin knew how to calm her down, all it took was shurra fruit. Ashoka had no idea why, but shurra fruit seemed to calm her down and make everything around her seem clearer. She had noticed this after a nightmare and been given some from Anakin's plate, a week or so after she had been imprisoned in Vader's quarters with him.

R2 returned with the shurra fruit and Anakin handed it to Ashoka, who took it hesitantly, her hand shaking as it reached out. After a few minutes, the shurra fruit was gone and Ashoka was feeling much better. Her stomach was full and she no longer had the desire to cry, nor did she feel the emotional turmoil that had accompanied the vision of Barris being tortured.

Anakin watched her until she was ready to talk again.

"How are you feeling, Ashoka?" He asked her.

"Better." Ashoka replied. "I still cant believe what I saw, though."

"Dont think about it now, Snips." Anakin said. "Just focus on other things, alright? We'll be arriving on Yavin 4 in two days time. Try thinking about that."

"You mean Vader slaughtering them?" She asked.

"No. He wont be slaughtering anyone, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked him. "The rebels arent strong enough to stand up to him. If they were then they would have made some significant attacks by now."

"No, they arent strong enough. Not on their own." said Anakin. "But they wont be on their own, Ashoka. We're going to be there, fighting alongside them."

Ashoka looked up at him. "But, how do we know they will trust us? Wont they think we are spies?"

"Ashoka. For years the rebel alliance has described you as their last hope." Anakin informed her. "And they have described me as their chosen one, which is pretty coincidental. They know what we look like and they will accept us. We just have to gain their trust, which could take some time. But we will be fine. I promise you."

Ashoka nodded.

"It is late now, Snips." Anakin said. "You should get some sleep."

Ashoka became worried in an instant. "But what if I dream about..." She couldn't say it.

"You will be fine, Ashoka." Anakin assured her. "Go to sleep and in the morning we'll have a sparring match. Good night."

"Good night." Ashoka replied, standing and walking into her chambers. She was hesitant to get into bed, but soon found herself under the covers with her head resting on the pillow. Anakin had assured her that she would be fine, and she trusted him.

So she knew that everything would be fine.

* * *

Anakin woke up the following day feeling quite refreshed. He had had another night of uninterupted sleep, which was now becoming something of a routine for him. Ashoka's nightmares had become less and less frequent over the past month, for reasons he did not know, which meant he got a lot more rest and did not have to keep waking up in the middle of the night, every night.

But he did not mind, so long as Ashoka was fine it was alright with him.

Yawning, Anakin turned over and glanced at the chrono on his bedside table. It was nine o'clock. This was the latest he had ever slept. Anakin got out of bed, stretching his arms out in front of him as he stood up, and pulled on his clothes. He walked into the lounge and did not bother to go into Ashoka's chambers first, not wanting another kick in the shin, and found her already in the lounge with R2. Cleaning the dirt off of his dome, the dents that had been there before were now gone.

She had been cleaning him up.

R2 was beeping happily when Anakin walked into the room. It was obvious that the droid was now very fond of Ashoka, having cleaned him, which was not a shock for Anakin. Anyone would become fond of someone who took care of them when they looked as banged up as R2 had, it was common knowledge for most people.

"Good morning, Anakin." Ashoka said, not looking up at him since she was still cleaning R2.

"Good morning, Snips." Anakin replied. "You're actually awake. This is a first."

"You werent planning on waking me where you?"

"No. My shins have suffered enough, thanks." Anakin commented. "Feeling better today?"

"Much better, thanks." Ashoka replied.

Anakin watched Ashoka and R2 for a moment more before walking into the kitchenette and returning with his breakfast. When Anakin arrived again, Ashoka had just finished cleaning R2. They passed each other as she made for the kitchenette and Anakin got an unexpected fist in the gut. Though it was a playful move, it still hurt like hell and Anakin cursed loudly in huttese, making Ashoka laugh at him from the kitchenette.

Anakin sat down on one couch and, when Ashoka came back in, she jumped onto the other one, landing with her entire body spread out on the couch so that she was lieing down with her head propped up to eat.

"I'll give that a six." Anakin told her.

"A six? My extension was flawless." Ashoka protested.

"You have breakfast in your hands and your foot clipped the armrest." Anakin smirked.

Ashoka glared at him and began eating her breakfast. There was silence for a moment, which Anakin did not like, before the HoloNet was turned on. Uninterested by the boring reports, Anakin focused on eating his breakfast; his attention was then taken back to the HoloScreen once a report about Yavin 4 came on.

_"His excellency, the emperor, has informed us that good news is on the horison! The rebel base on Yavin 4 has just been discovered and imperial fleets have blockaded the planet, awaiting for Lord Vaders arrival. It is also thought that the 'Hero With No Fear' and the 'Jedi Of Hope' will be with him."_

_"And now sports!"_

There was a loud noise from behind them and Anakin jumped as he turned to see who it was. Vader was stood in the doorway and had just slammed his fist into the wall; Ashoka had moved slightly from her position, indicating that she had jumped also. It did not take long for Vader to say why he was angry.

"Our arrival was not meant to be announced." He growled. "Least of all that you two would be there. We still arent out of hyperspace."

Anakin frowned. "I'm sure the imperial blockade would be able to hold the rebels there. What are you worried about?"

"They will be prepared for my arrival, and most likely try to free the both of you." Vader grumbled.

"It'll take far more forces than what the rebels have to free us, Vader. This ship has too much security."

Vader growled from behind the mask. "Most of my forces will be on Yavin 4 with me, security will be the lowest it has ever been. If any rebel ship gets off of the planet, they will come here and they will take you from me. There is a reason you are both here, you are too dangerous to be let lose. The force will not allow any harm to come to you, brother, and you insisted upon saving your apprentice. You are lucky that my master has allowed her to live for so long."

"You're master is lucky that he chose that descision, because I would kill him before he could touch her, brother." Anakin retorted angrily.

"You do not have the strength to take us both on, now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the bridge and speed up our travels." Vader grumbled, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Anakin threw a piece of food after him, which went through the door as it closed.

"Slimy git." Anakin mumbled.

R2 beeped something even ruder about Vader, which made Anakin and Ashoka laugh.

"You got that right, R2." Ashoka commented. "I wonder if he really can speed up our arrival?"

"He might be able to, but I wouldnt bet on it." Anakin said. "The best he can speed us up without damaging the hyperdrive is a few hours."

Anakin stood up and placed his empty plate into the kitchenette before coming back to Ashoka. "Now, we have some sparring to do."


	7. Chapter 6

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 6**_

Bail Organa could not believe how much their luck had turned.

The imperial's had captured Senator Amidala's droid, R2-D2, and learned of the loctaion of their biggest base. Now they did not know what had befallen the droid, but they did know that the imperial fleet had blockaded Yavin 4 before any of the rebels could escape, and Vader was on his way.

But this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Vader's flagship was the prison for Anakin Skywalker and Ashoka Tano, who were the last hopes that the galaxy had. Ashoka was the only Jedi who was healthy and not imprisoned in the Jedi temple, instead she had been saved by Anakin as a young girl before Vader could kill her and had become his apprentice.

Upon learning that she had built her own lightsabers and knew how to fight almost as well as Anakin himself, the alliance had become dead set on rescuing the two of them. Anakin had not let them take either him or Ashoka when they had shown up first because she was too young and had no way to defend herself again Vader, who would certainly come looking for them.

But now that she could, Bail knew that Anakin would have no problem with the alliance rescuing them both and enlisting them to their ranks to help fight against the empire. Their attempts to free the two of them had failed miserabley over the past two years, but now they would be under much less security and much easier to get to.

However, since Vader was going to be fighting against them, they could not spare a single man. There would have to be more rebels alive than stormtroopers for them to consider sending a squad up to the Exactor to get both Anakin and Ashoka.

The rebel base was on red alert and every available officer was preparing for the fight; this was a fight that they could not afford to lose.

A few days before, they had recieved a transmission from the Jedi temple, something that had startled them all. The Jedi council informed them that Anakin and Ashoka had come to the temple to see them and untied them so that they could do a few things before Vader returned. The council had not known that Ashoka was still alive and had been shocked to find that over half of the galaxy had gone up in rebellion once they knew that a Jedi was away from the temple and not under the emperors control.

When news reached the alliance that Vader had gone to the temple and imprisoned all of the Jedi once more, with ruthless torture, it was a time of great sorrow for them all. But, amazingly, Vader knew nothing of Anakin and Ashoka's involvement, which meant that they both were far more skilled than they let on.

Senator Amidala had recently recovered from her injuries and was more than ready to lead the fight against Vader. The leaders of the rebellion were meeting to discuss their plan when something extraordinary happened.

"The imperials have blocked all exit systems. Without someone on the outside to navigate a path through them for us, none of our ships will be able to escape." Mon Mothma stated.

There was a beeping noise from the communicator inside the holodisplay and they all looked at it in confusion. A rebel commander read the location of the communication.

"It is coming from Vader's flagship, sir." He informed Bail.

They all looked at one another for a moment.

"Patch it through." Bail ordered. It took a moment before the image of an astromech droid appeared on the hologram, more specifically it was R2-D2.

"R2?" Senator Amidala asked in disbelief. "You're alright."

The droid beeped at its mistress happily.

"How did this happen? Surely Vader would have destroyed you?" Mon Mothma asked.

R2 whistled and beeped.

"You're with Anakin Skywalker and Ashoka Tano?"

R2 confirmed with a beep and some boops.

"Anakin was the one who put you back together." Bail stated. "Are you with them now?"

R2 beeped an affirmative and the hologram changed to show Anakin and Ashoka sparring with one another.

They were especially good at it. Ashoka ducked under Anakin's strike and lent back further than any normal person could have before striking at Anakin so fast that they did not think he could have blocked it, but he did.

_"You're slacking, Snips." Anakin commented._

_"Coming from you, Skyguy, that's a little hipocritical dont you think?" She retorted with a smile._

_Anakin rolled his eyes and ducked under her lightsaber as she made to slash his chest._

The hologram went back to R2 who beeped at them.

"Do you think you could get them on the hologram, R2?" Senator Amidala asked.

The droid beeped and rolled off somewhere, the hologram filming him as he went. He stopped beside the two of them, who were still fighting, and beeped loudly to get their attention. They stopped fighting to look at him, and saw the rebel leaders looking back at them.

_"Hello, Bail." Anakin said._

"Hello Anakin." Bail replied. "Are you still in hyperspace?"

_"We're arriving at Yavin 4 in about an hour. Vader sped up the hyperdrive, but he damaged it whilst doing so. The ships shields arent opperational."_

"Then we could destroy the ship?"

_"In theory, yes." Anakin replied. "But you dont have enough ships to launch an attack, according to Vader."_

"Is there anything that you could do?" Mon Mothma asked.

_"We were thinking of sneaking off the ship to join you, actually." Anakin informed them. "There's hardly any security and the ship will be entering Yavin's atmosphere, we could just jump off the ship."_

"So you will help us fight?"

_"Hopefully, yes." Anakin replied._

"We are vastly outnumbered, what makes you think that your presence here will help us win?" A rebel commander asked.

_Anakin and Ashoka glanced at one another. "Someones never met a Jedi before." Ashoka commented._

"These two are the best warriors in the galaxy on our side, commander." Bail said. "I have seen Anakin do things that I once thought impossible, and that is an understatement."

The commander fell silent, having learned his place, apparentely.

"Since you are in Vader's quarters, are there any battle plans that he has?"

_"No. He doesnt trust us not to look."_

"Very well." Mon Mothma spoke. "Do you have any suggestions as to how we can fight the imperials whilst you are still on Vader's flagship."

_"The stormtroopers have small air vaccums beside their helmets, if you shoot it then it can spark an explosion that will not only kill the trooper, but those around him." Ashoka suggested._

"We did not know of that before."

_"We found it out when there was a fight between two troopers in the corridor outside of Vader's quarters. The explosion sucked half of the crew out into space." Anakin said._

Bail nodded. "Then our men will aim for that spot on their helmets."

The hologram flickered for an odd reason and Anakin and Ashoka both turned around to look at something. A dark, booming voice spoke that belonged to the rebels worst enemy.

_"We are coming out of hyperspace now." Vader spoke. "Do not disturb my men as they begin their assault."_

_"We couldnt disturb them if we tried, their like zombies." Ashoka said quietly._

_"Very funny." Vader said, though his tone was not amused. "Just stay out of their way whilst the assault begins. There is a secret entrance to the valley that the rebels have hidden in that they do not know of, we will be entering from there."_

_Anakin and Ashoka smiled. "So your going round the back?" Anakin asked._

_There was a growl of frustration and the sound of a door slamming shut. Anakin and Ashoka turned back to the rebel leaders. _

_"You did hear where he was going didnt you?" Anakin asked._

"Yes, we did." Mon Mothma said. "We will be sure to defend that area."

Anakin and Ashoka nodded and the hologram flickered again. The signal was lost and they disappeared.

The rebels had a lot to prepare for, but they did have the advantage now. They knew where Vader was going to attack from and they had a Jedi and the chosen one coming to fight for them and, finally, they would become a part of the rebel alliance.

* * *

The Exactor entered Yavin 4's atmosphere and Vader and his battalion of the 501st stormtroopers rushed down the landing ramp to ambush the rebels, leaving Anakin and Ashoka alone on the ship.

They both stood behind some crates that were alongside the landing ramp with their cloaks on, hoods up and R2 beside them. They had to wait for every stormtrooper to be off the ship before they could depart, and the rebels would surely suffer great losses before they could reach them, which was not good.

Ashoka turned to Anakin. "How will we get to the rebels before Vader arrives? He will kill hundreds of them in a minute." She asked him.

"Have faith, Ashoka." Anakin told her. "They wont all be killed, and we have bigger problems to worry about. The Death Star is on its way here to destroy the planet once Vader and his men are safely away, we need to stop Vader's advance and lead the rebels off of the planet."

"What about the blockade?"

"What blockade?" Anakin said with a smile. "It was all a ruse, Snips. To keep the rebels on the planet. There are only four star destroyers around the planet, making it look like a blockade. We can get a ship and lead the rebels to safety, but they'll have to lead us to their base."

Ashoka nodded. "I think they're all gone now." She said.

Anakin looked up and used the force to sense around them. True enough, the stormtroopers that were leading the assault had left the ship and were rushing after Vader. The sound of gunfire in the distance was quiet, but obvious. The rebels must have been quite a way away, but they could reach them easily enough.

"You're right." Anakin said at last. "Lets go. Come on, R2."

Anakin and Ashoka volted the crates and ran down the landing ramp, jumping off to the side so that the stormtroopers would not look back and see them. Ashoka reached the hill of the valley first and began climbing up it, with Anakin close behind her. R2 used his boosters to glide up the hill and waited for them whilst they climbed up after him.

When they reached the top, they looked down to see the rebels fighting valiantly against the stormtroopers and Darth Vader. Vader was deflecting their blaster bolts with ease, and cutting down rebels like his saber was a knife and they were the butter. The rebels were losing badly, and it was time for Anakin and Ashoka to join the fight. Vader had to be taken out of the picture.

The rebels had not noticed Anakin and Ashoka before, so when they both flipped through the air and landed with their backs to them and their lightsabers ignited, they were very surprised. Anakin and Ashoka deflected the bolts from the stormtroopers and soon the rebels grasped the situation. Those who didnt got a shout from their commander.

"Its the Jedi!" He exclaimed.

The bolts from the rebels blasters soared alongside Anakin and Ashoka as they began shooting at the stormtroopers again. For once, the imperials were actually being pushed back, and Vader was outraged. He searched around for what had made the rebels more powerful and was shocked to see that it was Anakin and Ashoak, fighting alongside them.

Anger coursed through Vader's veins and he stormed towards them with his lightsaber, deflecting the few bolts that did come his way. Vader slashed his saber down at Anakin, who blocked it. Ashoka struck out at Vader's leg and soon they were all engaged in a fierce duel. The rebels pushed back the stormtroopers enough and Anakin and Ashoka were pushing Vader back quickly.

He had gotten more powerful, it was true, but he was no match for the two of them. It was obvious that Vader had not fought lightsaber to lightsaber with a Jedi for quite some time as he made a few bad moves which allowed them to force him back even more. Soon, Vader and his men were at the Exactor, which began to take off. With a final strike at Ashoka, Vader backflipped into the air and landed on the retracting landing ramp of his ship. His ship left the atmosphere and the rebels cheered in relief. Anakin was happy too, until a wave of pain hit him through the force that, he realised, was not his own, but Ashoka's.

Looking to his right at his apprentice, Anakin realised, to his horror, that Ashoka had gotten burned by Vader's lightsaber. It was not a big wound, or deep, it was just a slice. But she was in considerable pain from it and collapsed into Anakin before he could say something to her. The rebels stopped cheering as Anakin picked Ashoka up and looked at them.

"Is there a place where she can be treated?" Anakin asked them.

The commander nodded. "We should take her back to the command center. Senator Organa can help her, but we arent going to be staying here for long, sir." The commander said. "We are going to our base on Hoth to regroup and regain our forces."

Anakin nodded. "Let's get back to your leaders."


	8. Chapter 7

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 7**_

_There was white surrounding her, and the sounds of people moving. A voice. A very familiar voice spoke to her more than once and she could feel herself being moved around carefully in someones arms._

_The white turned to a glowing black and before long it was as she had known it to be._

_The back of her eyelids._

Ashoka's eyes opened slowly; she felt so tired for some reason. There were a pair of arms around her, supporting her back and legs. She was being carried around through a forest area, and they had just reached a stone building.

There was so much technology inside, and she had not seen that much since she had spent her life either in the Jedi temple or in Vader's quarters. There were people around her, concerned looking people.

Her eyes closed for a second and, when she opened them again, she was in a white medical room. There was a women standing beside her, with Anakin standing there also. R2 was there, on the opposite side of her bed to Anakin and the women.

Ashoka evened out her breathing and opened her eyes fully, her senses returning at last. Anakin smiled down at her.

"How are you feeling, Snips?" He asked her.

"I've been better." Ashoka replied honestly. "Where am I?"

"You're in the medical center inside of the rebel command base on Yavin 4." Anakin explained. "I hope you're fully awake because the Death Star is going to be here really soon."

Ashoka sat up straight. "How long was I out?"

"An hour, I think." Anakin responded. "They bandaged your arm and the bacta should be healing the cut soon. How did Vader get you anyway?"

"His saber hit mine with too much force and my own saber bounced off of his and grazed my arm."

"Ouch." Anakin commented. "Think you can get up? The other rebel leaders want to meet you before we evacuate the planet. This is Senator Amidala by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Ashoka told the women.

"Nice to meet you too, Ashoka." Senator Amidala replied.

"We should get going if we dont want the Death Star to blow us all to pieces." Anakin suggested.

Ashoka nodded in agreement and stood up from the small hospital bed that she had been lieing on. They walked out of the room and Ashoka could see rebel soldiers running up and down the corridors with red flashing lights and blurring sirens sounding around everywhere. The whole thing was giving Ashoka a headache. Anakin didnt seem to like it either; he winced at the noises as he heard them and closed his eyes tightly for a few seconds before opening them again, having blocked out the noise with the force. Ashoka did the same and was glad that she could use the force in such a way, or she would have gotten a migraine from the sirens.

R2 started down the corridor first, along with Senator Amidala. Anakin and Ashoka followed them; Anakin was obviously distracted by something and Ashoka wondered what it was since he was looking straight ahead of them at something. Looking forwards to see what he was looking at, Ashoka almost tripped over her own feet when she realised that he was staring at Senator Amidala; she stiffled a laugh behind her hand, making Anakin look her way as they walked.

"Something wrong, Snips?" Anakin asked her.

Ashoka grinned at him. "Nope. In fact, I would say that there is something very right, in your case that is."

Anakin frowned. "What are you talking about, Ashoka?"

"Oh please, a blind shaak could see whats on your mind. You have that look on your face and you keep ogling the Senator." Ashoka smirked.

"I do not." Anakin protested.

Ashoka chuckled and shook her head from side to side.

"Oh shut up, Snips." Anakin said. "Lets just focus on the battle, shall we?"

Ashoka was annoyed that she could not press the subject, but nodded in response. She would be certain to push Anakin for his feelings about Senator Amidala later on, and it would be a very fun conversation.

They walked down corridors filled with soldiers yelling to one another and running to their ships, Ashoka sensed through the force, trying to get off of the planet as soon as possible. As they reached the final few corridors, things were quiet, and Ashoka stopped using the force to block out all things, except from Anakin, from her ears.

Things seemed unnaturally quiet and, had she not known better, she might have ignited her lightsabers and prepared for danger, but she could sense that all was well. The lights were not flashing and, before long, she could hear a conversation coming from a room up ahead. She was feeling slightly nervous about who was inside the room because the rebel leaders did nothing more than watch her, like she would disappear if they looked away. Something that came from being, in a certain point of view, the last Jedi in the galaxy.

Senator Amidala stopped in front of them as R2 began unlocking the door; Ashoka wondered why the rebels had locked the door in such a way if this was their base. When the door opened, Ashoka could see who was speaking. It was Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, arguing over the best escape strategy and how to make sure that Vader could not follow their rebel ships.

The conversation came to a halt as they entered the room and Ashoka could feel almost every eye in the room on her, every eye except for Senator Amidala and Anakin, whom she glanced up at nervously.

"I see you arrived unharmed, then?" Bail asked, looking to Anakin instead.

"Almost unharmed, Ashoka got grazed by a lightsaber but she's fine." Anakin corrected. Bail nodded before looking back at Ashoka, who now felt like she would rather be back in Vader's quarters instead of fighting to stay out of them.

"So," Mon Mothma began to Ashoka, who waited for the question she knew was coming. "you are a Jedi, are you not?"

"I am." Ashoka replied.

"A Jedi youngling?"

"Padawan." Ashoka corrected. "To Anakin, though he isnt a Jedi."

"How did you, then, become his padawan?"

"The council made me his padawan when we went to the temple and saw them." Ashoka replied, a few people narrowed their eyes at her and seemed to be attempting to see whether or not she was telling the truth. Luckily, Anakin stepped in.

"Look, either you can keep ogling Ashoka like some artifact in a museum or we can get off of this planet before the Death Star blows it to pieces." He told them. "Your choice."

Bail nodded. "Wisely said, Anakin." He said. "We need to find a way to get off of Yavin 4 without our ships getting blasted to bits."

"There is a path that cuts across two of the star destroyers, but is out of their firing range. Our ships could escape into lightspeed whilst the star destroyers are rearranging themselves." A rebel commander said.

Mon Mothma nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." She said. "Prepare your ships and inform our men that they are to take that path."

"Understood m'am." The commander smartly saluted before walking out of the room.

Ashoka frowned. The man was not nearly as presentable as the people on Vader's ship had been, and Vader had killed people for less. It was strange not hearing the familiar snap of a neck whenever a commander talked to Vader, but then again, Vader wasnt here.

"Can you two fly?" Bail asked Anakin.

"Well enough." Anakin replied.

Ashoka was now very confused. She had always known Anakin to boast about his piloting skills frequently when they were on the Exactor, but now he was just acting so modest all of the time. Was he setting an example, or just gotten hit on the head by something?

"Good. We will prepare fighters for you." Bail stated. "We will rendevous on the ice planet of Hoth, we have another base there that can hold our forces."

The base began to shake and a few more lights began flashing, which made Ashoka wince. Flashing lights she did not like.

"We had best get going now. Good luck to you both, we shall brief you on what the alliance needs you to do once you arrive on Hoth."

* * *

Anakin was in space in his borrowed star fighter from the rebel alliance and was now looking at a squad of TIE fighters coming straight towards him, obviously not knowing that it was actually him in the rebel star fighter. If they did then they would not dare to fire upon the brother of Darth Vader, not that he minded now. In the eyes of the imperials, Anakin was as good as a Jedi. Only a few of them would know that he was not actually a Jedi, and those few would be sith.

The rebels needed someone to cover their escape, and Anakin had been more than willing, depite numerous protests from Bail Organa. Bail did not want the only hopes the alliance had getting killed covering the rebels escape, so Anakin said that Ashoka would stay with them, much to her distress.

The TIE fighters began firing at Anakin, who quickly steered his ship out of their path and used a trick he had learned as a boy to appear behind the squad and opened fire upon them. None remained after he was done.

"Skywalker, this is Red leader." The rebel commander said over the comlink.

"I hear you, Red leader." Anakin replied.

"We can make the jump to lightspeed now that the TIE fighters are gone, sir."

"Go whenever you're ready, Red leader. I will be making the jump momentarilly."

"Understood, Red leader out."

* * *

Hoth was a cold planet, and Ashoka _hated_ the cold. Even Anakin had shown how much he despised it when they had both gone to Ilum together. He came from a warm planet, apparently, and the cold was more than a big shock for the both of them; Vader's quarters had been heated at a warm temperature, which she had become used to.

She landed her fighter easily, just as Anakin had taught her years ago, and jumped out of the cockpit. Shivering at the cold, Ashoka pulled the hood of her cloak up to get some warmth back into her brain as the other rebels landed. Senator Amidala landed alongside her; R2 hopped out and rolled over to Ashoka, beeping a concerned question to her.

"I'm fine, R2." Ashoka replied. "I'm just not used to the cold, that's all."

R2 beeped another question at her.

"She has been on Vader's star destroyer for five years, R2. It would be much warmer than most planets in the galaxy." Senator Amidala answered for Ashoka. "Lets get inside, if you only wear that cloak for warmth you'll be dead by morning."

Ashoka smiled and nodded; Senator Amidala led her inside of a strange looking base where the walls were snow and ice and so were the ceilings. There was hardly any heating inside and Ashoka couldnt wait for Anakin to arrive and come up with his own arrangement to get around the cold; that was one of the things that she loved about Anakin, whenever there was a problem, be it hot or cold, he would make something that would keep them both warm in a cold environment and cold in a hot environment.

There was a hanger filled with the newly arrived rebel ships and rooms filled with technology to keep an eye on the things coming towards the rebel base and Hoth itself. Ashoka could sense that Anakin was just arriving on the planet and hoped that he would not take too long trying to get some heat into their room, if they were in the same one.

Senator Amidala led Ashoka into, what looked like, a uniform closet. There were a few coats at the right side that looked unused, and Ashoka realised that they were Jedi coats. Senator Amidala handed Ashoka a coat, jumper, and thicker trousers.

"Thank you, Senator Amidala." Ashoka thanked.

"Call me Padme." Senator Amidala replied.

"Alright then, Padme."

"Your room is just up here, next to Anakin's." Padme informed Ashoka. She led Ashoka up another corridor, which was closer to the hanger than before, and to the two rooms that were side by side in the base. The left one was Ashoka's, and the right one was Anakin's. It was just like it had been on Vader's cruiser, in his quarters.

Padme took Ashoka inside of the room which was hers and Ashoka could see what was inside. It was like an ice tomb. The walls and ceiling were ice, just as they were in all of the corridors and rooms in the base, but the floor was metal with a rug placed around the bed and beside the door. Obviously these rooms had been prepared for quite some time, since it looked unused up until this point.

Ashoka could hear someone walking outside in the corridor, which she sensed was Anakin, and wondered if he would think that the blankets on the bed were enough to keep them warm. They were thinner than the ones she had had on the Exactor, and even then she had felt slightly cold at night. She was going to catch frostbite, she was sure of it.

Anakin walked in the room and, to Ashoka's amusment, was already dressed in a warm coat and the rest of the uniform that the rebels had given them. She honestly felt that he looked like a fish out of water in that uniform, Anakin hated the cold and the look on his face when he spied the ice that was everywhere was priceless to Ashoka.

"Cold Snips?" He asked her, his breath clear through the cold air.

"Not as much as you, you're from a desert planet after all." Ashoka replied.

Anakin rolled his eyes.

"I'll let you get changed, Ashoka." Padme said. "There is a meeting between the rebel leaders in a few minutes and you are both required to come." With that, she left the room; R2 was beeping happily alongside her.

When Ashoka turned back to Anakin, he was looking at wires in the wall and appeared to be deciding which ones he wanted for something; Ashoka prayed that he was going to use them for some heat.

Eventually, he turned to her. "I'll let you get changed; I'll be waiting outside." He informed her, walking out of the door and leaning against the wall outside as the door closed behind him.

Ashoka rolled her eyes and put on the clothes that Padme had picked out for her. She felt warmer, but the cold still managed to make her feel uncomfortable; it was bad enough that the rebel leaders did nothing but watch her, now the cold was making her feel more uncomfortable.

When she walked outside, Anakin was still standing there and he nodded at her before leading Ashoka down the corridor to the room where the rebel leaders where hosting an emergency meeting about how to take down the Death Star. Ashoka had the sneaking suspicion that before the Death Star could be taken down, the sith would have to be crippled in some way. Ashoka knew that there was a rule of two for the sith lords, but there were more than two sith.

There was the emperor and Vader, obviously, and the emperors other apprentice Count Dooku. There was Dooku's apprentice Asaij Ventress and Vader's apprentice Starkiller.

Ashoka knew this because Anakin had told her all about which sith did what and the HoloNet often spoke of the sith that were not the emperor or Vader as 'associates', which just made it more obvious.

There was another conversation up ahead that she could hear, like the one on Yavin 4, except this one was definetly two people arguing for all they were worth; Ashoka had known many people to argue with one another, mainly the Jedi at the temple who had grown frustrated, but she knew no finer arguer than Anakin. He had argued with Vader more times than she could count and he had won every single argument. If anyone did argue with him, they would most certainly lose.

The next set of doors opened and Ashoka saw that it was Bail Organa and Mon Mothma arguing again and had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes, they were always arguing. This time they did not all look at Ashoka, for which she was grateful, and the argument had reached a very loud level. Senator Amidala looked as though she would rather be somewhere else, and Ashoka agreed with her entirely.

The argument went on for a minute before Anakin decided to put an end to it; he stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, gathering everyones attention, including Bail's and Mon's.

"Shut. Up." He told them, people nodded their heads in agreement.

"We were talking about what our next move should be." A rebel commander informed Anakin and Ashoka. "Then an argument broke out."

"How many arguments do you have here?" Ashoka asked.

"More than we should, considering we have an empire to defeat."

"Maybe we should get the help of some people who dont have arguments." Anakin said.

"What are you suggesting?" Mon Mothma asked.

"The Jedi." Anakin informed them.

"That's impossible." Mon stated. "They're imprisoned in their own temple and tortured by Vader. How could anyone get inside?"

"We did." Anakin reminded her. "But we didnt have any intention of freeing them; too many stormtroopers outside and we hadnt planned an escape for so many."

"True, but you two are far more skilled than any rebel soldier." Bail said. "And Coruscant is heavily blockaded, we would stand no chance."

"A big group of rebel ships might not, but they wont be suspecting us to be hiding on some regular ships." Ashoka said. "They get imports from places all over the galaxy, there must be some that they dont check."

Bail nodded thoughtfully. "There are a few imports that are trusted by the imperials, but surely the emperor would be able to sense you?"

Anakin shook his head. "He wont. He's on an inspection on the Death Star."

"We did not know of this, how did you find out?" Mon asked.

"We were living on Vader's cruiser." Anakin reminded them. "The stormtroopers talk far more than they should."

Mon nodded. "If we were able to get onto Coruscant and free the remaining Jedi, then we would be able to defeat the empire. I will contact Commander Dall right away."

Anakin and Ashoka frowned and looked at one another.

_They arent letting us go?_ Ashoka asked him through their bond through the force.

_Apparently not. _Anakin replied.

"How soon can you prepare a rebel squad?" Mon Mothma asked the commander who was already in the room.

"I can have them ready by the end of the hour." The commander replied.

_Why arent we going?_ Ashoka questioned.

_Such a dangerous mission and they dont want to get their prizes killed I'm guessing. _Anakin replied.

_We can take a mission to Coruscant easily! They'll be slaughtered!_

_I know, Ashoka. Let's just see what they say about it before we jump to any conclusions, okay?_

"Good." Mon Mothma said. "Warn them that a mission to Coruscant is not to be taken lightly, few rebels have the skill to survive."

_But a Jedi does._

_So what does that make me, Snips?_

"I shall inform my soldiers, sir."

_A monkeys uncle._

_Ha. Ha._

"Excellent. You are dismissed." Bail told the commander.

_I dont want to stay here, I want to go back to the temple!_

_You're sounding like a child, Ashoka._

_I am. Remember?_

They both turned to Anakin and Ashoka, who stood there looking slightly confused. "You're sending a group of rebel soldiers to Coruscant?" Anakin asked. "They need time to plan how to get onto the planet, how are they going to do that with an hour to prepare?"

"Our soldiers are very efficient, Skywalker." Mon Mothma said. Anakin arched an eyebrow at the deliberate use of his last name but remained silent; Ashoka hid a smirk from her face. "They can handle the challenge."

"You'll be sending them to their deaths if you dont give them more time to prepare, and you know it." Anakin stated.

"Unlike stormtroopers, which you are no doubt used to seeing, our men can handle challenges like this easily." Mon replied.

The tension was mounting and Ashoka knew that there was only one person to win this argument.

Anakin.

"I've seen people do many things, senator." Anakin replied tersely. "But going to the imperial capitol without some kind of preparation is not one of them."

"And if they fail, what will you do to the survivors? Choke them, like your brother?" Mon asked.

A deathly silence fell over the room and everyones eyes widened, had she really just said that? Ashoka looked up at Anakin and wondered what he would say as a retort.

"Vader is my _half_ _brother_, senator." Anakin replied. "And if I was evil, as you have put it, I would not be standing here helping you, and I would not have saved Ashoka from death in the council chambers five years ago. Who have you saved?"

That was it.

Ashoka knew it.

The argument was over before it had even gotten out of hand and Mon Mothma would hate Anakin for the rest of her days; he had rendered her speechless. This had to be a first, since everyone looked impressed by what Anakin had said and Mon's inability to speak; she stormed out of the room moments later, Anakin glaring daggers after her.

"Wow." Senator Amidala said. "None of us have ever made Mon speechless before."

"How did you do that?" A rebel asked. "It would be nice to know how to get her to shut up."

"I've argued with every sith in the galaxy." Anakin explained. "Compared to them, she was easy."

"Any tips?"

"Use what she says and turn it against her, easiest tactic there is."

"Well, you two should go and do whatever it is that you do whilst we review the plans of Vader's star destroyer." Bail said. "And you might want to steer clear of Mon, she tends to hold a grudge."

"She's not the only one." Ashoka muttered, looking at Anakin.


	9. Chapter 8

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 8**_

Anakin was meddling with various wires and objects in the hanger whilst Ashoka lay on his ship, staring up at the ceiling with her head resting on her hands, which were folded behind her head. Everything around them was quiet and calm, since the rebel squad that had occupied the hanger before had been sent to their deaths by Mon Mothma, Anakin was certain.

Ashoka had stayed out of the matter completely, but knew that in some way she would become involved, no matter what she did. According to some very reliable people, Mon Mothma would always make things worse for the person that she argued with the most, who, up until Anakin had arrived, had been Bail Organa. There was more than enough proof that what Anakin had thought was right.

The alliance did not want the two of them on any dangerous missions because they valued them far too much and only wanted them to defeat the emperor in saber to saber combat, that was all. Ashoka did not like the idea of only being needed because of her lightsaber skills and nothing else; she wanted to feel needed, or at least talked to.

But the rebels that were still at the base just steered clear of her and Anakin, like they where time bombs or things that would be cast aside once their job was done; Ashoka didnt like being in the alliance one bit, and she had just joined. But, she thought, at least she did have a place to go back to once the war was over; the Jedi would be more than willing to take her back, being the apprentice of the chosen one. There was another thing that bothered her. Anakin had nothing to go too once the war between the empire and the rebels was over; he had spent his life on a star destroyer and did not really have anywhere to go.

There was a strange wooshing noise emitted from the device that Anakin was working on and the air began to feel suddenly warmer; Anakin had obviously been doing something to change the temperature. Grateful that they were a few degrees warmer, Ashoka closed her eyes and went into a meditational trance; Anakin had taught her how to meditate anywhere and in any position, she could do a handstand and be meditating at the same time if she wanted to.

The force was unusually calm inside the rebel base, which was more than could be said for what it was like on Vader's flagship. Concentrating, Ashoka found that there were two strong vissures in the force which were more powerful than any Jedi she knew, with a start, Ashoka realised that it was her and Anakin. She had never tried to use the force to sense their own power and could see why Vader and the emperor had seen fit to keep them both imprisoned.

Ashoka frowned as she felt a very familiar presence aproaching the planet; for a moment she thought that it might be Vader, but then remembered that Anakin had always told her not to jump to conclusions and focused on the presence. It was very familiar, a presence she had spent the first half of her life with; there was a Jedi on the way to Hoth. Ashoka's heart leapt at the thought that it might be Barris, but that thought was soon squashed as she sensed that it was not her friend. Using a very complicated technique that Anakin had shown her, Ashoka zoned in on the force presence and sensed what was around it. There was only one ship, and badly damaged at that, with two crew inside other than the Jedi.

Anakin had been right; sending a group of unprepared rebels to Coruscant was the worst idea, even if it did get one Jedi out of the temple.

There was a spark that brought her back to where she was, caused by Anakin touching something on the device he was making, and the air went from cold to boiling in a heart beat. Ashoka opened her eyes to see Anakin had finished the device, or devices as there were two, and picked them both up. They had a lot of flashing lights and looked extremely complicated.

"What are those?" Ashoka asked him, not bothering to sit up.

"These are things that will keep us warm in this cold version of hell." Anakin told her. "You just clip it to your belt and adjust the setting so that it can measure the size of your body and it projects a field of heat around you and only you. Here's yours." Anakin tossed one of the devices to Ashoka who caught it in one hand and sat up.

Ashoka clipped it to her belt with difficulty, since her hands where shaking from the cold, and watched as it measured the size of her body and make a wooshing noise as it projected a field of heat around her, with the edges of the warm air just milimetres from her skin. You would have to be touching her skin on skin to realise that there was warm air around her, and the force field of warm air was gladly welcome to her; now there was no need to walk about like a block of ice.

"How long did it take you to make these again?" Ashoka asked him.

"About eight hours." Anakin replied.

Ashoka's eyes widened. "Eight hours?" She said. "I dont remember being in here for eight hours."

"You fell asleep for five and went into that meditational trance for two. You spent the other one talking with me about how annoying the rebels were because they kept looking at us in strange ways." Anakin replied.

"I spent two hours meditating? I cant remember it being that long, I just did it." Ashoka protested.

"It often takes longer than you think, Snips." Anakin said. "Find out anything interesting?"

"Yeah. There's a Jedi on the way here in a badly damaged rebel ship; there are only two rebels alive so it was true what you said about it being a bad idea."

"Mon Mothma wont think so." Anakin mumbled. "Who's the Jedi?"

"I dont know. But they do seem familiar, I thought it might have been Barris for a while, but this persons force signature is more powerful than hers."

"And you sensed this an hour or so ago, right?"

"Right."

"So when should they be arriving?" He asked, arching both eyebrows. Ashoka stared at him for a moment before grasping the situation, bolting off of the ship and darting across the room with Anakin so that they were against the wall as the ship flew into the hangar and skidded across the floor, crashing into the wall at the other end but not bursting into flames.

"That was close." Ashoka said; her breath still made an impression in the air. "Hey, my breath's still-"

"Yeah, about that. The force field only extends to your body and not anywhere else so your breath will still do that, making it look as though you are cold but arent actually. Like a disguise." Anakin explained.

"Nice." Ashoka said. "Lets get them out of that wreckage."

Anakin nodded and they both jogged across the room to where the ship lay, broken and riddled with many holes from blaster fire and smoke rose from its engine. Ashoka coughed as she accidentally inhaled some of the smoke, which made her feel dizzy.

The top of the cockpit was almost off and it only took a nudge for it to fall to the floor and reveal the rebels and Jedi who were on board. Ashoka could not tell who it was yet, they had a cloak on, but sensed that they were really familiar to her.

Anakin lifted the two rebel pilots out effortlessly, being much stronger than Ashoka was, and helped her to take the Jedi out from the wreckage and laid him down flat on his back on the floor.

The rebels in the base had come through to the hanger and had watched Anakin and Ashoka retrieve their men from the wreckage; they went to them first before watching the person that Anakin and Ashoka were crouched beside with curiosity.

Ashoka hesitantly pulled down the hood of the Jedi's cloak to reveal who it really was.

Her old friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Padme and Bail Organa came over to look at the Jedi master as he slowly regained consciousness and, to Anakin's obvious distress, Mon Mothma entered the room to see what all the commotion was about.

"If she says one word about this to me I'm going to dig her grave." Anakin muttered loud enough for only Ashoka, Padme and Bail to hear. But someone else heard him too.

"That doesnt sound very Jedi like, Anakin." Obi-Wan said quietly, being too weak to speak any louder.

Ashoka smiled at the Jedi master. "Wonderful to see you Master Kenobi." She told him.

"Its wonderful to see you too, Ashoka." Obi-Wan replied. "Who's idea was it to send an unprepared group of rebels to Coruscant? I was actually trying to get out of the temple when they found me, and those two were the only ones left alive."

Anakin smiled. "Mon Mothma." Anakin informed him.

"Who has recently had an argument with Anakin and become enemies with." Ashoka told Obi-Wan. "Neither of them will let go of a grudge so it should be going on for quite some time."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I can hardly wait." He said sarcastically. "Is there a reason both of you are so warm but dont look it?"

Anakin and Ashoka looked at one another. "Anakin made these devices which make a force field around us that holds warm air in and keeps us warm on this... abomination." Ashoka informed him.

"Impressive." Obi-Wan commented. "You wouldnt happen to have a spare would you?"

"Give me a few minutes and I'll make you one." Anakin said.

"Thank you." Obi-Wan said. "The temple may not have been warm but it was certainly much warmer than this."

"I'd like to think that any place in the galaxy is warmer than this." Ashoka commented.

"Can you walk Master Kenobi? Are you harmed?" Bail asked him.

"No. At least, I did not recieve any wounds from the crash. My wounds are from Vader and the emperor and their friends." Obi-Wan said. "But there was a medical droid who sealed my wounds before the ship was under attack, so I feel fine, better than I have for quite some time in fact."

"I seem to remember words like that coming from Ashoka after a medical droid healed her on the Exactor five years ago." Anakin said thoughtfully. "I wonder if all Jedi say that?"

Ashoka rolled her eyes. She spied Obi-Wan's lightsaber on his blood stained tunic and frowned.

"You got your lightsaber back." She stated. "Where was it?"

"Inside a secure safe at the bottom of the Jedi temple. Normally it would have taken quite a while to open it, but the blaster bolts from the rifles of the stormtroopers helped a lot. There were only the lightsabers of the Jedi council in the safe, though. The others must be somewhere else."

"Well, at least now you can fight." Anakin said. "Instead of just doing some boring job for the alliance, which would actually be better than what we've been doing for the past ten hours." Anakin groaned.

Obi-Wan frowned. "Why? What have you been doing for the past ten hours?"

"We spent two talking and walking around the base five times to get the blood back to our brains and the other eight I spent making these devices to keep us warm whist Snips fell asleep and did a bit of mediation." Anakin said.

"Shouldnt you have been doing something for the alliance?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, thats what we thought, but apparently not." Anakin said looking up at Bail as he did so before looking back at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan then looked up at Bail. "Senator Organa, why have they not been doing something to help? Anakin is the best pilot in the galaxy and both are more than decent mechanics, if that isnt enough they can use the force to do just about anything."

Bail sighed. "We did want them to help, Master Kenobi. But the council of rebel leaders came to the majority vote that they should stay out of the way and only do what they are supposed to, in their eyes, which is kill Sidious and Vader."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. "So the council thinks of them as disposable after they have done their jobs?"

"That is what many of them believe. Mon Mothma spoke to many of them before they both arrived and the vote was influenced by her quite a lot."

"When you next have a meeting, I would like to be present if I may." Obi-Wan requested. "There are a few things about Anakin and Ashoka that they should know."

Padme smiled. "That would be most welcome, Master Kenobi."

Mon Mothma was striding towards them and Anakin said, "Bring on the boaster." to Ashoka.

"Master Kenobi, I hope that you are alright?" She asked. Ashoka had to stop Anakin from pulling a face at the senator.

"I am quite alright, thank you. Just a bit confused." Obi-Wan said.

"Oh? And why is that?" She questioned, giving Bail a glance.

"Why have the rebel council prevented Anakin and Ashoka from helping you around your base or with your work. It may surprise you to know that they are not tools to be used to simply kill Sidious and Vader, so I would like to know how the council came to that majority vote."

"It was hardly a majority," Mon Mothma said. "The only two against it were Senator Amidala and Senator Organa."

"At least they have some sense in them." Obi-Wan commented. "What were your reasons for voting the way you did?" Obi-Wan sat up so that he could listen.

"Many felt that they were both too dangerous and could not control the powers that they possessed." Mon Mothma explained.

"Cant control?" Obi-Wan stated. "They would not be here if they could not control their powers, which is called the force by the way. Ashoka was not even as powerful as she is now before Anakin began teaching her, I would say that they have the force well in hand. What were the real reasons?"

Mon Mothma sighed. "Some believe them both to be insignifigant and not to have any purpose except to kill the sith. In fact, many did not even think that was the case and that they were simply going to lead us to the Jedi and then...well-"

"Go away?" Obi-Wan finished for her. "Where would they go? They came from Vader's flagship and they cannot go back. I think that the real reason that you do not want them helping is because you cannot stand the thought of there being people like them in the galaxy. Power threatens you, doesnt it senator?"

"Power is what made the empire." Mon Mothma protested. "Power is useless and anyone with power is dangerous. They both have more power than any normal Jedi and quite possibly more than the entire Jedi council put together."

"More than the entire order put together actually." Obi-Wan corrected. "One of the reasons for this, senator, is because of who Anakin's father is."

"And who was he? A man who strived to gain power?"

"The force." Obi-Wan said.

"Impossible." Mon Mothma protested. "That is impossible."

"I will explain it to you and your council when you next have a meeting." Obi-Wan said. "Now if you'll excuse us, senator, I would like to talk with some very _important_ people."

Ashoka had never felt happier as she saw the senator turn on her heel and storm away, much as she had done after arguing with Anakin. Obi-Wan had been here for less than five minutes and he had already decided to put the rebel council in their place for thinking of Anakin and Ashoka as 'tools'.

"Nicely done, Obi-Wan." Anakin commented. "Your the only person apart from myself who had put her in her place so far." Anakin turned to Ashoka. "You'd better be the next person to do it, Snips."

"If she is as infuriating as she is now, then I will." Ashoka replied.


	10. Chapter 9

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 9**_

The meeting of the rebel council was definetly going to be something to remember. Obi-Wan was fuming about the descision that they had reached about Anakin and Ashoka and was more than happy to go to their meeting and scold them. Ashoka swore that she would remember this day until the day she died because this was about as good as it got.

"Master Kenobi, you are alright we trust?" One of the rebel leaders asked sweetly. But Obi-Wan was a Jedi to be reckoned with when there was a point to be got across.

"I am fine." Obi-Wan replied. "But I do have some problems about the way that you view Anakin and Ashoka."

There was a very tense moment of silence.

"We have already reached a descision on the matter." Another of the rebel leaders spoke.

"A majority vote," Obi-Wan corrected. "and you made the wrong choice." Obi-Wan scolded. "You wont allow them to help in any way, when both are more than capable to do any task that you could set them."

"They are here to-"

"Kill the sith and make sure that you can retake the galaxy, right?" Obi-Wan cut across him. "Well that is not what they are here for, and if you dont see that then I can take them away to a place where they will actually be appreciated and not used as tools. Mon Mothma tells me that you came to this descision because you are afraid of their power?"

"That is true." A rebel leader said. "They hold far too much power-"

"The force." Obi-Wan cut across them again. "They can use the force in powerful ways, that is all. But you are right, they do hold great power within themselves, and that is because of the fact that Anakin was born from the force itself." Obi-Wan explained. Silence reigned over the room. "He can use it in ways that many people might never be able to, and he taught Ashoka which made her more powerful. Over the course of five years she became as powerful as she is now, and she is still only a child."

"That is why we are cautious of them. They cannot control their power and-"

"Cant control it?" Obi-Wan said in disbelief. "Have you seen them practising? Day in and day out to make sure that they dont do something wrong and get someone hurt, I know that they both have immense power but they keep it well hidden. You can still let them help you. Anakin is the best pilot I have ever seen, and quite possibly the best in the galaxy, and both of them are the best engineers I have ever known. They could fix something with a piece of string it you asked them too."

"Master Kenobi, they are here for one reason and we can handle without them."

"Oh really? Then you wont mind if we all leave you here then?" Obi-Wan said. "Because without them you are finished, the Jedi order would be gone by now if they did not exist and you would have most certainly been killed on Yavin 4 if they had not shown up when they did and pushed Vader back into space."

"Vader is immobolise by his suit and a quick shot to the-"

"He is not immobolised by his suit." Anakin butted in. "He only wears it because he has a breathing problem and by the end of the week his lungs will be fully healed, and when they are he is going to be ten times as powerful as the emperor."

"If you knew this then why did you not say it before?" Mon Mothma questioned.

"Because you wouldnt let them help you." Obi-Wan answered. "The empire is evil and corrupt and the rebel alliance, it seems, is nothing more than a bunch of cowards who rely on the power of these two and the brains of Senator Organa and Amidala to save them. Neither of you has the right to rule the galaxy and you never will."

"What makes you think that?" Mon Mothma asked.

"If I take Anakin and Ashoka away from you and never return, your alliance will be gone the moment Vader returns to full strength. Now either knock some sense into one another or start runnning because, if you dont, the alliance will be destroyed." Obi-Wan stated. He turned to Anakin and Ashoka. "Follow me." He ordered.

Anakin and Ashoka followed him willingly, leaving behind a roomfull of squabling rebels. Ashoka was happier than she had ever been; Obi-Wan was the best lecturer in the Jedi order to date and he had just put the alliance leaders in their place, but after a lecture usually came something either disasterous or easy.

Ashoka knew that the alliance would never give in to what Obi-Wan had said, nor would they let them leave. But, unknown by them, Anakin and Ashoka had their own plan already; their plan was not easy and seemingly impossible, but it was their only hope if the alliance was going to be like this to them.

Obi-Wan led them back to the hanger that he had crashed in and Ashoka sat back down on Anakin's ship whilst he began making another device for Obi-Wan to use. Obi-Wan simply stood there with his arms crossed looking frustrated.

"Relax, Obi-Wan." Anakin said. "The rebel leaders only came here because they were pushed out of their homes, its no wonder they're spineless."

Obi-Wan sighed. "They arent just spineless, they're stupid. I just hope that Senator Amidala and Senator Organa can talk some sense into them."

"And if they dont, what will we do? You arent really going to be taking us away are you?" Ashoka asked.

"No, I couldnt if I tried. The council used their combined force powers to set me free so that I could find you both and look after you; you arent the most mature of people." Obi-Wan said.

"Us? Not mature? You must have hit your head hard in that crash." Anakin said sarcastically.

"Very funny, Anakin." Obi-Wan replied. "What do you both do around here? There doesnt seem like there is much to do if they wont let you help them."

"So far I've just been making these devices," Anakin gestured to the ones on his and Ashoka's belts. "whilst Ashoka has fallen asleep, done a bit of mediation and spent two hours with me running around the base to keep ourselves warm."

Obi-Wan nodded. "So you get bored easily then?"

"You have no idea." Ashoka replied.

Anakin's head suddenly snapped up and he turned to Obi-Wan. "Hang on, what else did the council ask you to do?"

"Make sure that you are both being safe and that when the time comes you will be able to hold your own against Sidious and Vader."

"And Dooku, and Ventress, and Starkiller." Ashoka added. "Right?"

"Right." Obi-Wan replied. "But you will not be fighting all of them at once."

"No, we'd be dead within five seconds if that happened." Anakin muttered. There was another wooshing sound from the new device that Anakin was working on and he handed it to Obi-Wan. "Just leave it on your belt and let it do the rest."

Obi-Wan took the device from Anakin and looked quite surprised when it actually started to work, which made Ashoka smile. "How did you do this?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "I made it up." He replied. "Things like this are harder to make if you're following a set of instructions."

Obi-Wan nodded. "What will you be doing now?"

"Well, we could either wait for the council of rebel leaders to decide whether or not we are allowed to help, or we could practise an escape plan." Anakin said, glancing at Ashoka.

"What do you mean by that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Well, in the toughest of situations there are certain objects that might be lying around, so we figure out how to use them to make a quick get away."

"Why do I get the feeling that this will be extremely dangerous?"

* * *

"This isnt a good idea, Anakin." Obi-Wan spoke a few minutes later.

Anakin had got a cannon and rope and set it up so that once the cannon fired, the momentum would carry him, on the rope, upwards and he would land on a thin pole, which did not seem easy to stand on.

"You worry too much." Anakin said, rolling his eyes.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You're mad."

"Well its a good thing that I am because if I wasnt this would probably never work." Anakin replied, igniting the cannon.

There was a loud blast which made Ashoka and Obi-Wan duck out of reflex and Anakin soared into the air with a yelp as the rope took him up faster than he had thought it would. The rope swung Anakin around and he let go, landing on the pole that he was supposed to.

Obi-Wan looked up at him and frowned, that should not have been possible.

"See, nothing to worry about." Anakin said cockily.

"You know that would never work again in a million years." Obi-Wan said.

"Dont need it to, I've made my point." Anakin replied with a smile.

* * *

The rebel council had come to a descision, which was the same as before. They were both simply too powerful, too...god like, to be trusted in any way. But they did not want to recieve another lecture from Master Kenobi, so they were not allowing him or Ashoka or Anakin into another meeting so that they would not have to deal with it.

But what worried them was Kenobi's promise, he would take Anakin and Ashoka far away from the alliance if they did not agree to let them do something. Mon Mothma had not been happy about this and suggested that Master Kenobi was under the influence of the sith and a traitor to the alliance and should be imprisoned; Padme had something to say about that and when troops were sent to retrieve Master Kenobi, Anakin and Ashoka defended him easily.

No troopers were harmed though.

Mon Mothma had suggested that they all be imprisoned but everyone was against the idea, they needed Anakin and Ashoka and so far there was next to no chance that they would cooperate given what had just happened with Master Kenobi.

This was not their only problem.

The Jedi council had given him a mission and they did not know what it was; he had told Anakin and Ashoka but no one else, especially not the alliance leaders.

This was getting far more frustrating than they had first thought it to be; now all they needed to do was free more Jedi from the temple and defeat the empire.

Then Anakin, Ashoka and Obi-Wan could go to hell for all they cared.

* * *

Obi-Wan was being very suspicious as he took Ashoka outside for a reason that he would not give; Anakin did not look too keen on the idea of Ashoka even going outside, given the amount of imperial forces that would surely be looking for them, but let her go with Obi-Wan anywhere.

The silence that insued as they were walking outside into the snow of Hoth was torturous; Ashoka did not like silence. On Vader's cruiser there had always been something to talk about or someone talking; in the temple there had been nothing but silence and that was why she despised it, anything that reminded her of the temple was an unwelcome thing.

When they stepped outside, Ashoka did not feel the cold air that was supposed to sweep past her skin and was thankful that the device that Anakin had made worked so well; Ashoka wondered what he had used as a power source for it, she did not know since she had been asleep for five hours. Obi-Wan stopped when they were a ways away from the rebel base, though it was still in view just barely. Ashoka stopped beside him as he turned to face him, his expression completely unreadable, which she did not like.

"Ashoka." He said simply.

"Yes, Master Kenobi?" She asked curiously.

"Anakin, does he treat you well?" He questioned.

Ashoka frowned. "Of course he does, he treats me like his little sister."

"Has he defended you from Vader?" Obi-Wan asked. "Has anyone tried to hurt you whilst you were onboard the Exactor?"

"He has defended me from Vader, and no one tried to hurt me at all, not even Vader." Ashoka replied. "They knew that he would easily be able to kill them if they tried."

Obi-Wan nodded. "And of your training? What has he done about your Jedi training?"

"Well, he took me to Ilum to make my own lightsabers." Ashoka replied. "And he's taught me how to fight and use the force, sometimes he would teach me how about mechanics if we got bored, which was a lot of the time."

"What do you think of him as? A friend or your master?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"Usually I think of him as my friend, but in situations that are dangerous he is more of my master." Ashoka replied.

"What happened, Ashoka? After Vader tried to kill you he erased our memories of what happened. We could only remember that he had tried to kill you and Anakin had saved you and taken you away, thanks to the force, but the council cannot remember anything else. So what happened?"

Ashoka sighed. "How much of from the moment when I first met Anakin and onwards do you want to know?"

"Up until the point where you came to the temple."

"This will take a while to tell, master."

"We have plenty of time."


	11. Chapter 10

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 1**_

The once welcoming walls of the Jedi temple had, at one point, made Ashoka feel so safe and happy; these walls now signified her prison and the sadness of the now imprisoned Jedi order. Every week or so, a youngling was taken to the council chambers and Vader would kill them in front of the Jedi council.

This time, it was Ashoka.

Master Plo looked at her with a sad expresion as she knelt on the council floor, facing Vader. He was mocking the council and telling them that they were all powerless against him as he raised his lightsaber to kill her, when there was a great tremor in the force. It was unlike anything Ashoka had sensed before, a person more powerful than any Jedi, and the council had felt it too, she was sure.

The lightsaber came down with a flash of red, only to be stopped by another lightsaber, this one was blue. Ashoka looked up to the powerful force user and saw that he looked absolutley furious with Vader, who she could have sworn recoiled slightly at the sight of the man.

The man had to be young, he did not look as though he was a day over twenty one, and the aura around him was electrifying; the way that everything about him screamed power was almost frightening, almost. Something about this man was oddly comforting to Ashoka, though she did not know why.

Vader's and the mans lightsabers were still connected a few inches above Ashoka's head, as Vader let out a very low and dangerous threat. "Move. Now."

The man didnt even flinch, which Ashoka found to be very interesting; everyone flinched whenever Darth Vader gave them a command with the punishment of death echoed in his voice, but this man did not. Instead, he pulled up his and Vader's lightsabers with the force of his own and struck out at Vader's shoulder so fast that Vader had to move his lightsaber to block it and take a step back so that he did not get hit.

Ashoka was certain that the man had signed his own death certificate when Vader slashed his own lightsaber back at him, but then, to her astonishment, the man cut off Vader's hand as if it was the easiest thing in the world. She could sense that the council were utterly baffled by this person, and then they werent; they had realised something which she had not and she sensed hope from them for the first time in.. forever.

Just at that moment, when the man raised his own lightsaber to kill Vader, a group of stormtroopers burst into the room with half their blasters aimed at the man, and half of them aimed at Ashoka. The man moved away from Vader and stood in front of Ashoka in a protective fashion, which made Ashoka feel much better, for a reason that she did not know.

She sensed Vader's anger through the force before he showed it, and the rage was almost overwhelming; it would have been if another presence had not touched her mind and lifted the effects of that rage from it before it could do any damage.

"Take him back to the Exactor and lock the door this time." Vader growled at the stormtroopers, supporting his injured hand as he did so.

The stormtroopers moved towards the man, who raised his lightsaber at them and got ready to fight.

"Just come along willingly, sir." One of the stromtroopers said. "We do not want to hurt you, you are very kind to us."

"I know you dont, Rex." The man replied. "And I will go willingly on one condition."

"What?" Vader grumbled.

"She comes with me." The man said gesturing to a very startled and surprised Ashoka.

Had she just heard that right? The man knew the stormtroopers on a personal basis and wanted to take Ashoka with him back to Vader's flagship?

"My master will order her dead." Vader growled. "Why bother?"

"Your master couldnt get past me and you know it." The man replied. "Now either we take her with us, or there is going to be a fight. Your choice."

Vader was silent for a moment, and so was everyone else. Ashoka was certain that he would say no and that the man would then have to fight against him and his stormtroopers.

"Fine." Vader answered to much astonishment. "But if anything happens, Anakin-"

"I know, I know." The man known as Anakin replied. "Now dont you have some people to terrorise or are you finally seeing that no one gives a damn?" He asked cockily.

Ashoka's surprise was not easily hidden when Vader turned on his heel and left the room, his hand still on the floor from where Anakin had severed it. Anakin turned to Ashoka and knelt down in front of her with his lightsaber, offering out his hand for her to take.

Hesitantly, Ashoka took it and watched as Anakin used his lightsaber to destroy her handcuffs and helped her to her feet, which she could barely stand on from lack of use. He kept one hand on her arm to support her as he helped her out of the council chambers; Ashoka cast a final glance over her shoulder at Master Plo, who nodded to her, before they left the room.

The stormtroopers walked alongside them with their blasters and Ashoka knew that she should have felt paniced, really paniced; the force presence that had been around her mind before had returned and eased away her panic before she could even acknowledge that it was there. Ashoka wondered briefly if it was Anakin who was doing this, before they walked slowly into the entrance room and Barris looked up at her in shock, tears had been streaming down her face but had stopped once they saw Ashoka limping along with Anakin helping her along and being flanked by stormtroopers.

Many younglings looked up at her in shock and fear, wondering what was going to happen to her; to be honest, even Ashoka didnt know what was going to happen to her now. This man had saved her from death but provided no information as to what was going to happen with her, and she wanted to know badly. Just as they reached the outside of the temple, the blinding light of the Coruscant sun was painful against her eyes, she had been imprisoned in the Jedi temple for nine years now and even the light of the sun was too much for her.

That, coupled with the pain of beatings from Vader and Palpatine, almost made her collapse when the presence touched her mind again and everything faded to black in a gentle way.

* * *

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 2**_

When Ashoka opened her eyes next, she was in a cell. This cell's lights had been dimmed somewhat, for which she was grateful, and it eased the presure off of her eyes that came from the lights that many people considered to be normal. Unbelievabley, Ashoka felt more afraid than she had at the Jedi temple. At least there she had been able to talk with Barris and they had lightened one anothers moods, and the younglings around them sometimes, so she could not feel the fear from Vader and Palpatine; she had only felt the pain from beatings and every Jedi in the temple had been beaten, that was the truth.

Ashoka realised that she was lying on something soft and comfortable. There were actually blankets and a pillow for her to use. In the temple they had just fallen asleep in their knelt positions and awoken feeling stiff and wishing for death. She felt strangely clean, looking down she saw that the tattered clothes she had been wearing had been replaced by a plain white top, trousers and socks, there were shoes at the side of the bed. Obviously someone had put her into the holding cell, but given her a lot of care and attention. Ashoka clenched and unclenched her hands in nervousness and realised that they were bandaged, someone had healed her wounds aswell.

Slowly, Ashoka sat up on the bed and looked around the room. The cell was actually quite clean, and decently built. The door was ray shielded, which meant that someone did not want her to leave; then again, no one had let her leave the temple, being a Jedi youngling. There was an unsettling silence in the room, which reminded her off the temple. She flinched at the thought of it. The temple had always been silent as people wallowed in despair and tried, and failed, to heal their wounds. Jedi knelt in rows along the walls so that they could be tortured and their screams would echo off of the walls, but Ashoka had not scremed; she had never screamed, simply fell into unconsciousness before any scream could escape her lips.

These thoughts alone were enough to scare Ashoka and she drew her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on top of them, rocking backwards and forwards slightly. She was afraid, very, very afraid. Now she wished that there was someone with her, more than anything, she wanted Barris with her. But that wasnt going to happen now, she was not in the temple and, if what Vader had said was true, she was on the flagship known as the Exactor.

Just as Ashoka prepared to panic and begin to cry, she sensed that familiar force presence again. The most powerful force presence she had ever sensed, and it was a welcome thing to her to have him near. The man, she thought, was called Anakin, according to Vader, but Vader never called anyone by their first name in her experience. The ray shield flickered and died around the door, and it slid open to reveal the man who had saved her in the council chambers.

Vader was shouting at him from the other room. "- had better not be any trouble!"

The man just rolled his eyes at the statement and walked down the steps and towards Ashoka, smiling softly at her as he came closer. "Hello." He greeted. "How are you feeling?"

Ashoka remained silent for a moment, surveying the man for the first time before answering. "I'm fine." She replied. "Much better than when I was in the temple."

The man nodded. "What's your name?" He questioned her.

"Ashoka Tano." Ashoka replied.

"Anakin Skywalker." The man replied. "Do you think you can walk? I'm not exactly keen on you staying in this prison cell for longer than you have to."

"How far will I be walking?" Ashoka asked carefully.

"Just to the turbo lift and then all you have to do is stand, wait and walk to the first door that you see." Anakin stated. "Is that alright?"

Ashoka nodded and, shakily, got to her feet. She put on her shoes before walking up to Anakin, who was stood beside the door waiting for her; he palmed open the door and led her out of the cell and directly to her right, where a turbo lift was. The stormtroopers standing either side of the door did not so much as move or shift uncomfortabley as Anakin and Ashoka passed them and walked into the turbo lift, which began to ascend the moment the doors lid shut. Ashoka looked up at Anakin and watched him carefully, taking in what he looked like.

He had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. His form was built as though he had excercised many times a day and he wore simple clothes which looked well used and comfortable, kind of like the ones that Ashoka was wearing at the moment. He wore a belt which held his lightsaber, which looked as though it had been built with a great deal of care and thought; it was built to fit his hands perfectly, she could tell by the way he had fought against Vader, and it obviously improved his fighting skills because of that.

The turbo lift came to a halt after a few seconds and Anakin stepped out, Ashoka following quickly behind him. There were considerably less stormtroopers on this level of the ship, but beside the only door on one side of the room there were stormtroopers standing guard as though they were keeping someone inside, Ashoka wondered if they were there because of her, or because of someone else. Anakin walked inside first, and Ashoka followed, sparing a glance at the stormtroopers as she did so. When she walked inside her eyes widened as she surveyed the room in front of her. A room, no doubt, which belonged to someone of very high status, it belonged to Darth Vader.

Vader was stood in the corner of the room, watching Anakin and Ashoka as they entered the room and making Ashoka feel uncomfortable as he did so. She positioned herself so that she was behind Anakin and did not have to look at the sith lord who had tormented her for nine years. Anakin did not even stop for more than a second when he saw Vader and simply continued to the left of the room, through a door which led to a lounge like area and then towards two doors that were side by side. He entered the one on the left and Ashoka saw that there was a bed inside with a chest of drawers beside it and a 'fresher to the side, there was also a door on the right side that led somewhere else. Anakin turned around to face Ashoka.

"This is your room." Anakin informed her. "In case you havent noticed, yes we are in Vader's quarters. This is because Darth Vader is my half brother, he and his emperor keep me imprisoned in here because the force wont let me die and because they cant let me run around the galaxy trying to destroy the empire. You are here because I wont let you spend your life in a cell and because I can make sure that he will not hurt you."

Ashoka nodded thoughtfully. "Are we allowed out of these quarters?" She asked curiously.

"No." Anakin replied sadly. "But there is more than enough things here to keep you entertained. There's a gymnasium if you want to practise with a lightsaber, HoloScreen in the lounge, a kitchenette to eat in, though I personally prefer to eat in the lounge, and lots of other things to do." Ashoka was silent as she processed the information that she was now a prisoner in Darth Vader's quarters instead of a prisoner in the Jedi temple with her friends. "I know it must be a little frightening living in the same area as Darth Vader, but he rarely comes this far into his quarters. There's a whole other area that he uses and he tends to keep to himself most of the time."

"How do I know that he wont hurt me?" Ashoka asked.

"I wont let him." Anakin replied. "Do you want to get some sleep or have something to eat? There are changes of clothes in the wardrobe for when you change your clothes in the mornings."

"I am a little hungry I guess," Ashoka said. In the temple there had been this really nice stormtrooper who would bring them food every two days or so, but Vader had found out a week ago and killed the man for being a traitor to the empire, Ashoka had been starving ever since but was unwilling to admit this to Anakin since she did not trust him yet.

Anakin smiled and nodded. "Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Anakin told her. Anakin walked out of Ashoka's room and Ashoka, after a moments pause, followed him out, through the lounge and into the kitchenette. The kitchenette smelled nice, nice enough to make Ashoka's mouth water just by sniffing the air. There had not been food like this in the temple, though there was none now, and she suspected that whatever Anakin made her she would love, though she had yet to decide whether or not she was going to trust Anakin or not.

Anakin gestured to a seat at the table. "Have a seat," He said. "I know you feel uncomfortable in here so if you dont want to eat in the lounge then in here is fine."

Ashoka sat down and frowned. How did Anakin know that? She knew that he had force abilities and that his signature was uncommonly strong, but surely he would have to pause for a few seconds to read her mind and get that much information out of her. Who was he?

Watching Anakin intently, Ashoka attempted to read his mind and see if he was lieing to her and wanted to cause her harm, but the barriers around his mind were so strong that she actually winced when she felt them slam down. Anakin chuckled with his back turned to her.

"You know, Ashoka, when you read someones mind try not to do it quite so obviously, try doing it softly so that they do not realise what you are doing." Anakin suggested.

Ashoka glared at his back and crossed her arms on the table, resting her chin on them. He sounded more like a mentor right now, and the fact that she could not know whether or not he meant her harm was frustrating beyond belief. But what he had said might be useful for the future, she had never tried to read someones mind before and only had acute force senses because she had only been trained for the first two years of her life. Anakin had obviously had some vigorous training or had trained himself for days on end, which she did not find possible.

Anakin turned around with two plates in his hands, both were filled with food and Ashoka could not help but gaze at it like a staring person, because that was what she was. He placed one plate in front of her with a fork and placed the other one beside it; Ashoka frowned again, she had thought that he would be eating also, but apparently not, which made her feel slightly cautious.

"I havent done anything to the food if that's what you're asking." Anakin said, reading her mind again. Ashoka looked up at him in frustration, how was he doing that without her knowing?

"Stop doing that." Ashoka told him.

"Doing what?"

"Reading my mind when I cant read yours, its really frustrating." Ashoka informed him.

"I could teach you how if you would like?" Anakin offered. "And how to have barriers around your mind at all times, even when you arent trying."

Ashoka considered the offer for a moment, before realising that this man was a total stranger. "I dont think so, I hardly know you."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whenever you feel like it, I'll show you. I'll leave you to eat -"Ashoka narrowed her eyes, had he done something to her food? "but if you insist on believing that I have done anything to your food, why not try and sense it?"

Ashoka sighed and looked at the table gloomily. "I cant. I was only trained to use the force for two years and my senses are only acute, I'm as weak as an untrained force sensitive."

"Alright then," Anakin said, using the force to levitate a piece of food from each of her plates into his hand and taking a bite ot of them. "there, you see? Its perfectly fine and safe."

Ashoka felt slightly jealous that he could use the force like that, but did not bother and began to eat her food slowly; she had the urge to shovel it in, being extremely hungry, but prefered to maintain her dignity as a Jedi and not to do that as long as Anakin was in the room. Anakin paused at the door on his way out and turned back to speak with Ashoka before he left.

"I'll teach you how to use the force to levitate objects after you eat," He said, he turned back around to the door and walked out of the kitchenette. Ashoka stared after him for a moment, furious that he had read her mind again, but soon got over it when she realised what he had said, he was going to teach her how to use the force. Somebody was actually going to teach her how to use the force for things that werent just sensing emotions.

Ashoka turned back to her food at took a large bite of it. It tasted really good, better than anything she had eaten in her memory and she could not help the way that she took another bite straight afterwards. She thought about her Jedi friends as she ate, and the way that Master Plo had looked at her when Vader was about to kill her and when Anakin had taken her out of the council chambers and away from Vader and the threat of death. When Vader had been about to kill her, he just looked at her as though all hope was lost, but when she looked at him as Anakin was saving her, the command on his face was very clear, 'go, save yourself'.

Closing her eyes, Ashoka forced the memory back into her heart and finished eating the food on the first plate and, after hearing her stomach grumble, moved to the second plate and ate the food that was on that plate. Ashoka just sat at the table for a moment more, thinking about the Jedi younglings that she had left behind. There was Barris, of course, her best friend. She did not know if she would ever see her again, if Ashoka ever did return to the temple Barris would most likely have been killed by Vader already. Not many survived for long in the temple if Vader was particularly angry.

Unable to think about the temple any longer, Ashoka stood up and departed the kitchen, arriving in the lounge where Anakin was sat on one of the two couches with his feet up, watching the HoloNet. He didnt so much as glance up at her, but what he said indicated that he did not have too to know that she had entered the room. "Enjoy your breakfast, Ashoka?" Anakin asked, his eyes not leaving the HoloNet.

"It was alright." Ashoka replied, though it was not entirely true. In truth, she had enjoyed her food more than she could say and could not wait to eat again. Shefelt something brushing at her mind and, the moment she pursued it, the feeling disappeared and Ashoka frowned.

"At least you can put up shields around your mind now." Anakin commented, sitting up straight with his feet on the floor.

"That thing brushing against my mind was you?" Ashoka asked.

"Yes." Anakin replied. "See how obvious it is when you try to read someones mind that way?"

Ashoka shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so."

"Come and sit down, personally I find its harder to learn to use the force if you're standing; if you use up all of your energy whilst sitting it doesnt make a difference, if you're standing then you have to spare some energy to make sure that you can stay standing." Anakin informed her.

Ashoka hesitated for a moment, before walking around the couch and sitting down on it. There was a coffee table in front of her which had a bowl and some shurra fruit on it. Arching an eyebrow, Ashoka looked back up at Anakin.

"Try and levitate those." Anakin told her.

Ashoka looked from the bowl of fruit back to Anakin. "I dont think I can do it, I'm not even sure how."

"Sure you can, just trust your instincts. Hold out your hand and will it to come to you, thats the easiest way to do it." Anakin said.

"But I saw you do it without moving or closing your eyes, how did you do that?" Ashoka asked.

"I'll teach you how after you practise doing it the easy way for a few days." Anakin said. "Now, hold out your hand and close your eyes." Anakin instructed. "Use the force and will something to come to you."

Ashoka did as she was told and had to focus really hard to feel the force, her force abilities had been repressed and unused for far too long and it took quite a bit off effort on her part to feel the force once more. When she did feel it in the way that she needed to, she had to focus even harder to find the fruit on the table within it. Ashoka was uncertain of how much time she took, but, eventually, she was able to make the bowl of fruit levitate slowly off of the table and into her hand, only then did she opened her eyes and stare at what she had just done and how easy it had been because of what Anakin had told her to do.

"It wasnt that hard was it?" Anakin asked.

"After I spent ages trying to reconnect with the force, it wasnt that hard." Ashoka said honestly. "What should I do now?"

"Whatever you want." Anakin said. "This is your home, Ashoka, no one tells you what to do here, though Vader tries his best."

"I would like to watch the HoloNet," Ashoka said. "I dont really know whats been happening in the galaxy since I've been kneeling on the temple floor for nine years."

"Fair enough," Anakin said. "You can watch it with me if you'd like, how old are you anyway?"

"Eleven." Ashoka replied.

Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "So you were only two years old when Vader took over the Jedi temple?"

"Yes." Ashoka replied. "But I didnt really know what was going on until he started torturing the people around me."

"You dont have to worry about that anymore, Ashoka. The empire wont last forever; lets just watch the HoloNet and figure out where we're going now. The Exactor wont be staying in Coruscnat's atmosphere forever."


	12. Chapter 11

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**SwordMasterZ: Since I watched Pirates Of The Carribean on Monday.**

**A/N: I have been thinking about Anakin's age and, given his level of maturity, have decided that he is twenty-two instead of twenty-five. Ashoka's age will remain the same but I felt the need to change Anakin's because it didnt seem right for him to be twenty-five.**

_**Chapter 11**_

"He taught you to use the force on your first day there?" Obi-Wan asked curiously, the snow had begun to fall from the clouds above them.

"Technically it was my second day, but yes, he did." Ashoka replied. "It was a little annoying that I couldnt when I arrived because he could read my mind effortlessly and I couldnt read his."

"It sounds like he was a very good teacher." Obi-Wan commented.

"He still is a good teacher," Ashoka replied.

"And you spent your first few weeks like this?" Obi-Wan asked. "He would teach you how to use the force in a way that, had the temple not been captured by Vader, younglings would be able to?"

"Yes." Ashoka replied. "But he taught me things that were slightly more advanced than that, he did keep his promise to teach me about using the force when I was barely thinking of it, and helped me to have permanant barriers around my mind that I can only lower if I want to."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I sensed the barriers around your mind when the council first saw you and we tried sensing your thoughts and feelings, we were quite taken back when we were met with a barrier as strong as yours. None of us thought it possible that you could have something like that at such a young age, but then again, when you disarmed Starkiller with one strike, we knew that what you had around your mind was not a fluke."

"What were the council thinking when they saw me again?" Ashoka asked curiously.

"We were told that you were still alive by Anakin, and many of us where just happy that you had survived and that he had kept you safe. But when we saw you and the aura of power that surrounded you, I must say, we were much more than shocked."

* * *

The council had been silent for many hours now, they were often like this, just sitting in silence and preparing for the onslaught of another of Vaders or the emperors beatings; they remained in silence until they felt two very familiar force presences entering the temple, two force presences that were more powerful than any Jedi and certainly more powerful than either Vader or Sidious.

These two force presences had just entered the temple and the council used the force to keep track on the two of them. One remained in the entrance room and was obviously involved in something important whilst the other made its way up to the council chambers. They were very interested in the force presence as it came closer and closer to them, it seemed so familiar and yet, strangely illuding.

They did not have to wait long before the strange force presence was right outside of the door and, when it walked inside, they soon realised just why the force presesnce had been so powerful and difficult to pin point exactly. It was none other than Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one himself. He seemed far more cheerful than the last time he had been there and after he had offered to untie them he had revealed to them some interesting news.

Ashoka Tano was alive.

Not only that, but he had been teaching her how to fight for the past five years and she was in the entrance hall talking to her oldest friend, Barris Offee. Many council members were eager to see Ashoka, and find out how she had been doing in her years away from the temple and, the moment that Anakin had freed them, they had all made their way there.

They all expected to see the little youngling who was curious about the world and had a lot to learn, but when they saw her that was not what they saw. She looked her age, which she had not at the age of eleven when she looked so much younger, and was dressed in a Jedi uniform, which they had suspected of course. Barris was struggling to remain on her feet and Ashoka held her friend up as though it was the easiest thing in the world, she had gotten stronger.

Curious as to how she had changed so much, the council attempted to sense her thoughts and penetrate her mind, but they were shocked by what they were met with. A barrier around her mind that was immobile and stronger than any they had sensed before; Ashoka did not even show that she had felt them trying to get into her mind and, it turned out, she didnt. She wasnt even trying to keep them out, the barrier was just there permanantly, which was almost frightening to them. Though Ashoka looked perfectly normal as she was talking with Barris, her aura did nothing but scream power at them. She had two lightsabers at her belt and wore a cloak with her hood down, like Anakin wore his, but they could tell that if she had the hood up and tried to intimidate someone, she would be able to do it easily.

In five years the youngling that they had known had grown into a very powerful force user, and they had no idea how it had happened; the council only knew that she had been with Anakin the entire time that she was gone and they had thought her dead. Though Anakin denied it, it was obvious that Ashoka had become his apprentice, and neither knew of it.

Master Plo walked up to Ashoka to speak with her and confirm that what they had sensed was true; Anakin followed soon after. Master Plo spoke to the same youngling who had been imprisoned with them inside their own temple but felt someone entirely different beneath the surface. She was hiding extraordinary power within herself and kept it well contained, she was an almost exact copy of Anakin, except for the fact that he was slightly more powerful than she was.

The council saw at once the relationship between Anakin and Ashoka from the moment Anakin had called her something that wasnt her name, and Ashoka had done the same to him. They were like an older brother and a younger sister, with a bond that was just as strong as blood. Each trusted the other completely and shared an attachment which might have been considered as against the Jedi code, but it was obvious that they needed to be attached to one another so that they could help one another to control their own power.

When Anakin and Ashoka walked with Master Plo back towards the council, the amount of power around them shone brightly, and neither one knew it. It seemed impossible for them not to notice, but they did not. Ashoka had not lost any of her manners, the council soon found out, and spoke like the youngling in the temple; Ashoka's personality seemed to not have changed, but she was definetly hiding something beneath that, just as Anakin was, and the council were unsure if they wanted to see what it was.

They caught a glimpse of what Ashoka had become when Starkiller had aprehended them from his spot above the temple doors. With a single slash she had disarmed him of one of his lightsabers and Anakin had twirled the other one out of his hand. Anakin was someone that they understood; Anakin was the son of the force; Anakin was literally programmed to fight and use the force; Ashoka was none of those things. She had, at one point, been so simple to understand and simply an eager future Jedi; Anakin had taught her much more than any Jedi could have and given her unimaginable power in the process, but neither one knew.

Neither of them knew what they possessed and it was likely that until the empire was destroyed, neither of them would.

The council had already come to a mutual agreement without even speaking and called Ashoka to speak with in private. Whilst one council member would speak, the others would sense more things about her. She was happy with the way that she had lived for five years, though she disapproved of Vader's presence. Anakin and Ashoka had the closest bond they had ever seen and her skills with a lightsaber almost rivalled Anakin's.

Wisely, the council made it official that Ashoka was Anakin's apprentice and made her his padawan. It was a way of hinting to Anakin that the council had something planned for him once the empire was defeated, but he was far too happy for Ashoka to realise what they were implying. The council had to give the two of them some sense of resposibility by being a master and an apprentice, for when the Jedi order was restored, and it would be, they would both be exactly where they belonged.

* * *

"So, none of the council could recognise me?" Ashoka asked.

"We could recognise you, Ashoka." Obi-Wan assured her. "It was just your aura and force signature that we did not recognise. You must have trippled your power every year for it to have become like that when we saw you again. The council had no idea how it had become like that and we were actually afraid of it before you proved that your personality had remained the same. But we knew that underneath the surface and the personality that you kept for the last few years was more power than any Jedi had, just like Anakin.."

Ashoka sighed. "I've heard many people say that about me and Anakin, but I still dont know what they're talking about. If we are as powerful as people say then we would not be able to hide something like that."

There was a strong gust of wind, which Ashoka barely felt due to the device that kept her warm, and the first signs of a blizzard started to show.

"Lets get back inside." Obi-Wan suggested. "Blizzards on Hoth are dangerous things."

Ashoka nodded and they both walked back inside; Obi-Wan had made Ashoka promise to tell him the rest of what had happened over the past few years once they had a moment to themselves. The hanger which Anakin was inside still did not have any rebel fighters inside and it looked as though there would not be any inside for quite some time. Anakin was bouncing a small ball off of the wall, which was in front of where he lay on his ship, and caught it in the opposite hand that he had thrown it from; he was clearly frustrated and Ashoka had a feeling that she knew why, Mon Mothma must have stopped by whilst Obi-Wan and Ashoka were gone.

He kept muttering words to himself and as Ashoka moved closer she could hear what he say saying. "Toss her in a pit of rancors and leave her," He muttered; he was thinking of ways to kill Mon Mothma and ease his anger. "give her to Vader on a silver plate," He continued muttering. "stupid women, I do not have a crush on Senator Amidala. Just because I took offense when she started gossiping about her not having a real sex life and such -"

"Say what?" Ashoka asked, startled by his words. Anakin turned around and looked at Ashoka. "Mothma said that you have a crush on Senator Amidala?"

"Yes." Anakin said through gritted teeth. "But I do not."

Ashoka smirked. "I'll be the judge of that." She replied. "Why was she gossiping about Padme anyway?"

"Doesnt like the idea of her and Bail being on the rebel council, prefers everyone to be in the same boat. That sort of thing; she wants to have them kicked out of the alliance." Anakin looked off into the distance. "Sent her in a package to the emperors palace." He continued, grinning. "That's perfect."

Ashoka rolled her eyes and chose to ignore what he had said; she sat down next to him on the edge of his ship with her legs dangling off of the side. Obi-Wan walked into the hanger next and frowned as he saw Anakin throwing the ball against the wall and muttering to himself, he looked at Ashoka for an explanation.

"Mon Mothma said that Anakin had a crush on Senator Amidala." Ashoka explained; Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "Anakin takes things like love very seriously and doesnt like the fact that Mothma thinks that he has a crush on Padme when, in his opinion, he doesnt."

"Mon Mothma certainly has grown irritable over the years, and she has not lived in the hell that is the Jedi temple." Obi-Wan said bitterly. "If she thinks that she knows of suffering, she knows nothing of what happened to us for the past five years."

Ashoka frowned at him. "Five years? The Jedi were imprisoned for far longer than that, I was there for most of it." Ashoka reminded him.

"I know, but after you left Vader's master ordered Vader to make an example of you many times, but Anakin was always in the way. We overheard their conversations sometimes and others they were in the room. Vader would take his anger out on the order for the beatings that the emperor would give him and blame us for the problem that you and Anakin had caused." Obi-Wan informed them.

"If the emperor wanted Ashoka dead so much, he could have come into Vader's quarters and tried to do it himself, not that he would get far." Anakin said. "He's a coward who prefers to let Vader do his dirty work; he favours his over apprentice Count Dooku and never tortures him, we both saw him on the Exactor once trying to intimidate Vader." Anakin informed Obi-Wan.

"He did?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes." Anakin replied. "Though it didnt go so well when me and Ashoka were standing right behind Vader at the time, ready to kill Dooku if he took another step towards us."

"Was that the time we ended up intimidating him by accident, or the time that he stormed into Vader's quarters to try and punish Vader for something one of his officers had done and instead found us both using the force to send fire at one another?" Ashoka questioned.

"The time we ended up intimidating him by accident." Anakin replied. "We did do lots more than that, Snips. How many times did he come into Vader's quarters? It was like he lived there."

* * *

The Exactor was a tenser place than when Vader was having one of his tantrums about something that his master had said about him or ordered him to do; even worse where the times when Anakin would end up winning the arguments they had and made him look like a fool in front of the Jedi youngling, Ashoka Tano. The reason for so much tension was the fact that the emperor had sent Count Dooku to Vader's flagship for an unknown reason, one which Vader was about to shout in his quarters.

"Weak?!" He bellowed, storming into his quarters and making Ashoka jump. "That filthy little son of a -!"

"Hey!" Anakin interuppted him. "There's a minor in the room if you havent noticed." He pointed out to Vader.

"Then why do you keep swearing in huttese?" Ashoka asked him.

"Because you cant understand a thing that I'm saying, only that its a curse." Anakin said knowingly.

He and Ashoka were sat on the couches that they had claimed as their own and Vader began pacing in the space behind them, muttering to himself about how incompetent Dooku was. Ashoka had noticed that Anakin did this as well whenever he was upset about something, they were brothers after all and shared a few rare characteristics.

"I cant believe he said my apprentice was under-skilled, how would he like it if I sent Ashoka over to best his?" Vader grumbled; he had started calling Ashoka by her first name after she saved his life from pirates two months ago.

"I'll do it for cash." Ashoka said, not taking her eyes off of the HoloScreen.

Vader stopped his pacing to reply. "I'll bare that in mind," He said. "should teach him a lesson. His apprentice bested by a youngling."

Anakin smirked at the comment and Ashoka smiled; it would be nice to see Dooku taken down a notch, and his pride was something that was the mission of many to offend. Vader went back to pacing, muttering at how Dooku had claimed the bridge of his ship with what he had called 'the emperors favour' and sent him back to his quarters. He had actually sent him back to his own quarters, Darth Vader was a lord of the sith and not ordered around by someone who needed to shave.

Anakin and Ashoka started laughing as they read his mind and Vader stood there for a moment, puzzled as to why they were laughing, when he remembered that they could read minds at the drop of a hat and went back to his pacing, feeling strangely happier knowing that they found what he had said funny. Dooku was a problem for all of them, Ashoka had to admit, but he had most likely signed his own death certificate by embarrassing Vader in front of his men.

There was a strange thudding sound which, Ashoka realised, was the sound of Dooku's loud footsteps as he came storming towards Vader's quarters. "Dont look now but prat-man's on the way." She warned Vader. "Maybe one of your crew angered him?"

"Prat-man?" Vader questioned, completely ignoring her other question. He smiled at the name she had given Dooku. "I've never heard such a perfect name for him." He commented with a grinunder his helmet. Vader longed to face Dooku in a sparring match without his armour on so that he could show that title snatching shaak's ass.

True to form, the door to Vader's quarters opened a few seconds later and Dooku stormed in looking very disappointed in someone, who Ashoka realised was Vader. She and Anakin lent down slightly so that Dooku could not see them, but sense that they were somewhere in his quarters; it was just in case there was a fight between the two sith lords and Anakin and Ashoka could end it faster than prat-man could breath.

"Lord Vader, your crew is defective. I have never seen people who are more foolish," Dooku smirked. "aside from yourself of course."

Vader clenched his fists and Ashoka could not help the comment that came from her lips. "Coming from you, prat-man, that's more than a little hypocritical."

Anakin and Vader smirked, though from Vader it sounded like an odd sort of rumble and both Anakin and Ashoka sat up straight so that Dooku could see them; the sith lord recoiled somewhat at the sight of Anakin and Ashoka knew that it was because, despite the luxuries that the emperor gave him, Dooku was afraid of the chosen one.

"Hey, Dooku." Anakin began. "The next time you compare your apprentice to Vader's, just remember theres a youngling who can beat yours in a heart beat. Now beat it you sack of shaak -" But Dooku was already halfway out of the room and Vader cut him off with a roar.

"Anakin!" Vader cautioned.

"Hey, you were about to swear a moment ago." Anakin reminded him.


	13. Chapter 12

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 12**_

"Dooku isnt afraid of you anymore though, is he?" Obi-Wan asked. "He has not so much as flinched at your name for two years now. Did something else happen?"

"No. He just got used to me and kept tormenting Vader; it wasnt that bad but he was a real pain." Anakin said.

"It certainly sounds like it, and -" He turned to Ashoka. "- prat-man?"

Ashoka smiled at him. "I was feeling a little odd from eating through twelve packets of sweets." She said honestly.

Obi-Wan gawped at her. "Twelve packets of -" He turned to Anakin. "Anakin! You let her eat that much?"

"Hey, dont get all angry with me, Obi-Wan. She wasnt allowed any sort of junk food for two weeks after that, so you can breath now." Anakin replied with a roll of his eyes.

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. "Still, as her guardian you should have known better than to let her eat that much junk food. She could have gotten ill."

"Guardian?" Ashoka asked.

"Dont worry, Snips." Anakin began to explain. "It's just because you're a minor and you lived with me and Vader wasnt exactly the caring type so I was made your guardian; the law's of guardianship are very strict in the galaxy and I couldnt have you going anywhere so I made myself your guardian."

"There was nothing like that in the temple, though." Ashoka remembered.

"In the temple the Jedi masters and knights were considered your guardians I think, but anyone in the temple didnt have the rights that normal people did. Once you were out of the temple for more than two years you got all of the rights of a citizen of the empire, much to the emperors disgust." Obi-Wan informed her. "He would often tease the council members with news of your death or the facts that he had tortured you to death, it broke Master Plo's heart to hear it; when you showed up at the temple we realised that it was just Sidious' way of torturing us emotionally."

"Didnt he use the other younglings who had died to torture you?" Anakin asked.

"Curiously, he did not. I think he was hinting that you were alive in his own way and making fools out of us for his own pleasure." Obi-Wan said. "When the temple is free again there will have to be a very serious council meeting."

"You still want to sit on those seats?" Anakin questioned mockingly.

"Never again will I sit on that seat." Obi-Wan vowed. "The moment I get the chance I am throwing it out and buying a new one, in fact, you two could burn it for me if you'd like?"

"Love to." Anakin replied, grinning. "We'll probably end up burning every council seat if they all feel the same way you do."

"Trust me, they do." Obi-Wan said. "Now, Ashoka, you told me about what happened on your first day in Vader's quarters until you learned to use the force and began watching the HoloNet, what happened after that?"

"Hey, you were telling a story without me?" Anakin said in mock disappointment.

"Sorry, Anakin, but your version would probably say that I was nuisance and constantly hitting you."

"That is crude but accurate, Snips."

* * *

**_Year 1, Month 1, Day 2_**

Ashoka was more than deeply interested in the reports on the HoloNet. She had never known a life outside of the torturous walls of the Jedi temple and did not even know whether or not it was legal to kill someone with Darth Vader and the emperor running things. Anakin, she discovered, was actually really good company to have. Ashoka had asked him a question about the report on a man who had mysteriously gone missing and he had been kind enough to explain that, since the man had been known to speak his mind, the emperor would most likely have ordered one of his assassins to kill him; Ashoka recoiled at the very idea of it. The HoloNet made the empire sound as though it was the perfect thing in the universe, which confused her because if they were then why did they kill people who spoke their minds?

She asked Anakin about this and he explained that the emperor was in total control of the HoloNet and made everything sound as though it was perfect so that all of the systems under his control would not revolt and rebel against him. Many of the public had opinions that they never spoke because they were afraid that Vader would kill them and their families for commiting treason; Anakin told Ashoka that most of the public wanted the Jedi back, which made her feel better, and that there were already a few people trying to do that, but they were not doing very well.

The HoloNet showed reports of a festival on Naboo that the emperor would be going to; it had a name that she did not recognise and had never heard of before. Then the HoloNet cut to show the image of something that looked like a moon, except it was made of metal. The announcer on the HoloNet began to talk about the empires primary weapon, the Death Star, and what it could do. It could destroy an entire planet with its laser and any planet that rebelled against the empire was held in line by the threat of the space station, Anakin had told her.

They both sat watching the HoloNet for two hours before it finally ended, the reporters having said all that they had too, and the HoloScreen faded to black; Anakin turned it off with the force and Ashoka felt her heart twist when she realised that, had the sith not taken over, she would have known how to do that too. Anakin swung his feet off of the arm rest where he had put them up and turned his body to look at her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her. Ashoka was not one to admit things easily to anyone and never said anything eagerly, she had gained that attitude at the temple, and was thinking of something entirely different when she answered.

"Yes."

Anakin nodded and stood up; Ashoka made to stand but Anakin put his hand out to stop her and she sat back down on the couch, watching him curiously as he walked into the kitchenette. Ashoka glanced behind her and realised that, if she was quick enough, she might be able to dart out of the lounge and get to the doorway of Vader's quarters and escape. But before she did anything, she realised that she had nowhere to go. Nobody in the galaxy knew that she existed, aside from the Jedi, sith and Anakin, and there was no way off of the ship anyway. But, she reflected, it had not been as bad as she had first thought when she realised that she was on Vader's ship. Anakin was very nice to her and acted as though they had been friends for a long time, though they had not, and had saved her life in the council chambers the previous day; she would not trust him, though, until she had known him for longer. Ashoka had not trusted anyone since the sith had taken over the temple and this would be a very hard thing for Anakin to accomplish, in her mind.

Ashoka was left to her own thoughts for a few minutes before Anakin returned with something that smelled, if possible, much better than before. Unable to help herself, Ashoka looked up and saw that he had more than two plates this time. There was a large bowl filled with things that made her mouth water, a plate of things that she had eaten before, another plate of the same thing - which she supposed was for him - and two drinks. Anakin placed them all on the coffee table so that the bowl was in the middle of the two of them and each had a plate and a drink in front of them.

"I dont know what you like to drink, so I just got you some water." Anakin told Ashoka.

"That's alright." Ashoka said. "I havent even drunk the amount of water that's in that cup before."

Anakin looked at her in near surprise. "Wow. I didnt know that the conditions at the temple were that bad," He commented.

Ashoka eyed what was in the bowl with interest; she had no idea what they were but they smelled nice, and she had learned in the temple that taking something because it looked and smelled nice was a very bad idea. Anakin noticed this before he started eating.

"Do you know what they are?" He asked, gesturing to what was in the bowl. Ashoka shook her head. "That's a travesty," He said. "they're sweets Ashoka."

Ashoka frowned. "What are sweets?" She questioned him; Anakin jaw dropped at the question before he righted himself.

"Well, in my opinion, they're the best food in the galaxy to date and every child eats them, unless they're allergic to them that is." Anakin added. "Try one." He offered. "You'll love them, honest."

Ashoka hesitated, as she always did, before slowly picking up a sweet and placing it into her mouth. She tried hard not to smile but it could not be helped, Anakin was right, they tasted better than anything she had eaten in her life. As they began to eat, Ashoka grew more and more curious about the world that was outside of the temple walls and, now that she was out, she wanted to know what things were like. Anakin answered all of her questions kindly, as he had before, and even said a few things which made her giggle. She did not laugh because it hurt her to laugh, her throat was dry and it had not even occured to her that she should have a drink before Anakin suggested it; she did not even know that was what she was supposed to do and Anakin promised to get her into the habits that all normal life forms have.

The food tasted better than before and, after they had finished and only the sweets remained to be eaten, Vader walked into the room; he looked just as menacing as before to Ashoka and she avoided eye contact, subconsciously shifting closer to Anakin's couch from her own as she did so. Anakin did not look the slightest bit afraid of Vader, he even looked at the sith lord as though he were simply a nuisance and maintained eye contact with Vader when most would have looked away because they did not want to be choked to death. Ashoka wondered how Anakin had grown to be so brave when she had only known to be afraid and sad for every day of her life.

"We are going to Dantooine," Darth Vader informed them. "rebel prisoners will be coming on board so you had best prepare yourself." He spoke more to Ashoka than to Anakin and he sounded harsh as he spoke, like he did at the temple. Ashoka swallowed nervously at the dark lords tone when Anakin instantly came to her rescue.

"She'll be fine." He said to Vader in a tone that mirrored the way that Vader had spoken to Ashoka. "You can stop treating her like you did at the temple because, if you do, the only sanctuary you will find is outside of these quarters and not in them. Now go away, and stop terrorizing someone younger than you; it doesnt make you look powerful it makes you look like a prat."

Ashoka was certain that the dark lord would snap and attack Anakin, then kill her afterwards, but he did not. He merely turned on his heel and walked away without another word to them, his cape billowing behind him as he went. Ashoka looked back up from the floor once he had left the room. Anakin rolled his eyes and said quietly. "Pilock."

Ashoka frowned, what did that mean? More importantly, what did prat mean? She had never heard those words before and Anakin said them as if they were completely normal, because they were to him, but not to her. "What does that mean?" Ashoka asked him. She could have sworn she saw Anakin looking terrifyed of answering for a moment.

"Well, I wont tell you exactly what they mean because you are only eleven years old, but I can tell you that they are curses." Anakin told her. "And if you dont know what those are, they're bad words. That's as simple as I can put it." Anakin explained.

"How many curses do you know?" Ashoka asked.

"Even I dont know that." Anakin replied with a smile. "Now come on, we havent finished eating the sweets. Plus, you need to realise that Vadercan cause you no harm now, so you shouldnt be afraid of him." Anakin advised her. "Showing fear to him will only make him feel better about himself and he's already a massive...never mind."

Anakin took a sweet and placed it in his mouth as though Vader had never walked into the room and Ashoka took one slowly, thinking about Vader, and placed it into her own mouth. What Anakin had said might have been true; she shouldnt be afraid of Vader, it wasnt very wise according to a few of the older younglings in the temple, but she was unsure of how to not be afraid of him when she believed that he might hurt her at any time. Anakin did not seem to be afraid of the sith lord, perhaps he would teach her not to be afraid too, like he had taught her to use the force to levitate objects.

"Do you want you want to watch a HoloVid?" Anakin asked Ashoka suddenly. Ashoka frowned and looked at him; a HoloVid? What on earth was he talking about?

"What's a HoloVid?" Ashoka asked him. There was another moment were Anakin's jaw went slack before he answered.

"A HoloVid is a movie that has been made for you to watch, or a video." Anakin explained.

"A movie?" Ashoka asked curiously. "What's that? And what's a video?"

Anakin went deathly silent and stared at her with an emotionless expression before standing up and heading towards a shelf that was in the corner of the room. "I'll show you." He informed her. "What sounds more interesting to you? A group of rogues who stand up to their evil king or a demi-god who must face the monsters of the netherworld?"

"A demi-god?" Ashoka said curiously.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Alright, no demi-god stuff until you know more about the galaxy. How about the thing with the evil king or a fairy tale story where a man slays giants?"

"The man slaying giants sounds interesting." Ashoka said. "But giants dont exist, do they?"

"Perhaps somewhere they do, but, these ones dont. That's why its a fairytale, a story to tell children." Anakin explained when Ashoka gave him a puzzled look.

"So, these are stories that people made up, then?" Ashoka asked.

"Well, yes and no. Usually they are made up but some are based on something that actually happened." Anakin told her. "And there are HoloBooks that you can read too."

"What are HoloBooks and... I cant read that well." Ashoka admitted in embarrassment.

"Dont worry, reading is easy. I'll teach you how. It's just what you say and its written down, fairly easy to grasp at the age of eleven." Anakin said, he took a silver disc out of the case and placed it into the box below the HoloScreen, that Ashoka had yet to ask about. He went back to the couch and sat back down, putting his feet up. He looked over to Ashoka. "You can put your feet up too, you know." He told her. "This is a few hours long and you should make yourself comfortable or you'll have aching limbs when you stand up."

Ashoka nodded and shifted her position on the couch to get comfortable before putting her legs up slowly, noticing how Anakin looked deeply concerned by the way that they shook from how weak her body was, and getting into the most comfortable position she had been in in her entire life. The moment her head hit the one of the pillows on the couch she felt her eyes grow heavy and fought the urge to fall asleep as the HoloVid started. It was a lovely thing to watch; Ashoka particularly enjoyed the way that the man fighting against the giants was only a few years older than her and showed time and again how brave he was.

Ashoka stiffled a yawn behind her hand and found that she could not go to sleep because she was afraid that Vader might come in whilst she slept and torture her, or worse, kill her. She shifted nervously at the thought and, as the HoloVid ended, Ashoka watched Anakin as he looked at something on the coffee table that had some numbers in it that she did not quite understand.

"It's seven o'clock in the evening." Anakin said; Ashoka was surprised that he had found that out from looking at some strange looking numbers in the middle.

"How do you know that?" Ashoka asked curiously, too tired to sit up straight and too comfortable to bother.

"I read it from the chrono." Anakin told her, gesturing to the device on the coffee table.

Ashoka frowned. "What's a chrono?" She asked him.

"It's something that tells the time." Anakin told her.

"I cant tell the time," Ashoka said sadly. "I dont know what those numbers mean."

"Well, I'll show you tomorrow but right now you should probably have an early night because you have been through a lot in the Jedi temple." Anakin told her. Ashoka noticeably flinched at the idea of sleeping; Vader could come in and hurt her, what was she to do to defend herself? She had no idea how to. "Something wrong, Ashoka?" Anakin asked. "Dont you like the idea of going to sleep?"

"Well, its not that." Ashoka said slowly. "Its just, I dont know if Vader will try to hurt me or not while I sleep. That's what he did to Jedi in the temple, and I dont know if he will do it or not."

"He wont." Anakin assured her. "I promise you."

Ashoka looked at the floor sadly. "I dont believe you." She said quietly; Anakin sighed and was silent for several moments before he walked closer to her.

"Come on." He told her. "Get ready for bed and I will stay with you in your room to make sure that Vader doesnt hurt you. Okay?"

Ashoka looked up at him curiously and nodded; she sat up and stood, walking towards her room with Anakin close behind her. He waited outside of the door as she walked inside and Ashoka realised for the first time that she had no idea what to wear whilst she was asleep. Did she wear the clothes that she had on now? Or different clothes?

After five minutes of thinking, and getting nowhere, Ashoka walked back outside to ask Anakin. "Anakin, what do I wear when I sleep?" She asked him.

Anakin looked at her. "Well, you can sleep in anything I guess, but there is a set of pyjamas underneath your pillow for you and another set for when those are being cleaned in your wardrobe. Put the ones that are under your pillow on and put the clothes that you take off into the wash basket, its the small box thats on the other side of your wardrobe." Anakin told her kindly.

Ashoka nodded. "Thank you." She told him before turning around and walking back into her room to change. The pyjamas were exactly where Anakin said they would be, and she put them on quickly. Ashoka did as Anakin had said and put the clothes that she had just taken off into the wash basket before walking to the door, with only socks on her feet, and telling Anakin that she had changed.

"Alright then," Anakin said once they were both inside her room. "get into bed and I'll quickly go into my room to get a pillow and a blanket. The floor isnt uncomfortable because of the carpet but it does hurt my back when I sleep on it." Anakin walked through the door on the right handside of her room and Ashoka remembered that the two rooms joined one another, so Anakin could easily come inside if Vader came in. But Ashoka was still afraid and did not trust Anakin to keep his word about staying with her. She climbed under the covers, which were thick and soft, and sat in the bed. The bed was the comfiest thing she had ever been in, and she would be sleeping in it for a while, according to Anakin, which made her feel a bit better.

The conditions in Vader's quarters were far better than those at the Jedi temple, and she had someone to protect her from Vader now; Anakin also made her stuff to eat which she liked too. She was liking Anakin more and more now, he answered all of her questions and didnt call her stupid for not knowing about things and had defended her against Vader and told him not to speak to her like he had at the Jedi temple, which was harshly.

Anakin walked back into the room with a pillow and blanket and placed them both on the floor at the foot of her bed, which faced the door. He sat on the floor and got himself settled in them before talking to Ashoka.

"I'll be here the entire night, alright?" He reassured her.

"Okay." Ashoka replied.

"Now go to sleep, if you dont then you wont get any better from what happened in the Jedi temple." Anakin advised her.

Ashoka nodded and laid down in her bed, resting her head on the large and soft pillows. The moment her eyes closed she was asleep, which, though it was refreshing and felt pleasantly welcome, brought back painful memories. She was in a deep sleep before long, where dreams could not reach her, but as she woke up that would change.


	14. Chapter 13

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 3**_

Ashoka's dreams started off peaceful enough. She felt as if she was floating, and she even dreamt of the temple being as it once was, based on some of the older younglings opinion. It was quite a pleasant dream, until it turned into one of the bad ones; Ashoka didn't know what they were called. There were bodies lieing on the floor with Vader standing above them, his red lightsaber casting a nasty glow around him. Barris was dead, and so was Master Plo.

There was a strange noise from behind her and a hand on her shoulder. Ashoka whirled around to see Anakin standing there, he grasped her hand and pulled her after him as they both began running out of the temple. The doors were right in front of them and Anakin shoved Ashoka out when there was a strange whooshing noise behind them; she could not see anything outside of the temple. Everything was strange and she had no idea what anything was, Ashoka panicked and began looking around for someone, anyone, that she knew. But they were all dead, the only person left for her to turn to was Anakin; where had he gone?

Ashoka opened her eyes and bolted up in bed; she had no idea where she was but she could sense someone familiar at the foot of her bed. Curious, Ashoka crawled forwards on her hands and knees to see who it was and, subconsciously, let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Anakin and that he had kept his promise to her; he was still at the foot of her bed, lying on the floor and facing the door. He must have woken up shortly before her because Ashoka knew that he had been asleep at one point in the night.

Anakin looked up at her as she looked down at him and smiled. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked her nicely.

Ashoka frowned. A what? "What's a nightmare?" She questioned him.

"A nightmare is where you have a bad dream that makes you upset or disturbs you." Anakin explained.

"Well, I did have a disturbing dream that made me feel scared. Is that a nightmare?" Ashoka asked him.

"Yes, it is." Anakin replied. "But you shouldn't think about nightmares too much, it can make you upset if you do." Anakin advised her.

"Okay, I wont think about it." Ashoka said.

Anakin smiled and nodded. "Do you want to have some breakfast?" He asked her. Ashoka looked at him with a puzzled expression, he had called it that the day before and she still had no idea what it was.

"What's breakfast?" She asked him, remembering that it had involved eating the nicest thing she had eaten in her whole life.

"It's the first meal of the day," Anakin explained. "and the most important. Are you hungry?"

Ashoka nodded her head. "Yes."

"Then you should get dressed whilst I get us some breakfast." Anakin advised.

"What do you mean 'get dressed'?" Ashoka asked. "I'm already dressed."

"I mean get dressed as in put on your clothes, and take off your pyjamas. Okay?"

"Oh, okay." Ashoka replied.

Anakin stood up and stretched his arms out in front of him, they made a clicking noise which Ashoka did not understand; it was the noise that people made when they broke their bones, but Anakin did not have any broken bones, she was sure he didn't.

"Wow, my arms must have been really stiff," He commented as he shook them slightly. "that was a lot of clicks." He began walking to the door but turned around to speak. "Oh, Ashoka, if your bones click don't worry its just because you've been sat in one position too long or something else that I cant quite recall. It doesn't mean you've broken anything unless its a crack, all right?"

Ashoka nodded. "All right." She felt much better about it now; Anakin walked out of the room and Ashoka stood up. There was a small click in her leg, which was bandaged, that made her jump; she then remembered what Anakin had said and put it to the back of her mind.

She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out another set of clothes that she had been wearing the day before. Ashoka put on the new set of clothes and, unsure of what to do with the pyjamas, put them back under her pillow. She was on her way to the door when she had the pained feeling in her stomach that she had always gotten at the temple when, as Barris called it, she needed to 'void her bowels'. The other younglings had just told her that she needed the toilet but the Jedi were chained to the floor, so they had to go on the floor. Ashoka shuddered at the thought of doing that again, the temple smelled terrible because of this and she did not want her room to smell like that. She walked into the 'fresher and saw that there was a shower, which had a shower - the one thing she knew about - towels hanging from the walls and a strange white thing in the corner.

What was that?

Embarrassed to ask Anakin where she should go to the toilet, Ashoka used the force to sense what to do and came out a minute later knowing that she was going to get used to living with Anakin very quickly, it was just Vader that she did not like. She walked out of her room and walked into the kitchenette to find that Anakin was just putting down their breakfast on the table.

He smiled at her as she came in, which made her feel a lot less nervous about eating breakfast with him, though most of her nervousness had evaporated the previous day. What he had made was floating in a white liquid and Ashoka frowned at it, was food supposed to be in water? But this certainly did not look like water, it looked like something else.

"What's that?" She asked Anakin. "The thing that the food is floating in."

"It's milk." Anakin explained. "I prefer blue milk because it tastes nicer, but this one has more calcium in it. Plus the cereal tastes better in it."

Ashoka nodded. Milk sounded all right from the way that Anakin put it, but she preferred to try things first and not to go on someone else's opinion. The food didn't smell bad either, it smelled nice and was definitely different than what she had been eating yesterday; Anakin had most likely given her something that would make her feel more comfortable around him before giving her what people usually ate for breakfast. There was a lot of food on the table. There was toast, which she knew about from when the stormtroopers had deliberately been eating in front of her to taunt her in the temple. There was also something that smelled sweet and was in a jar and coloured red, a few glasses of water and milk for both Anakin and Ashoka to drink and a box that was filled with the cereal that was in the bowl so that they could refill if they wanted to.

Ashoka frowned again at the word 'calcium'. "What is calcium?" She asked him.

"Its a nutrient." Anakin explained. "It keeps your bones and teeth healthy, so you are healthy too. But you should also eat the other nutrients like protein and such to keep the rest of your body healthy."

Ashoka nodded. "So, they're in certain types of food?" She asked him.

"Yes." Anakin confirmed. "Some have lots of one nutrient and some have lots of different nutrients in them."

"Okay." Ashoka said, understanding that these 'nutrients' were in food and kept her healthy. She sat down at the table and stared at a carton that had something on it which she could not understand, it frustrated her that it was most likely because she couldnt read. "What does that say?" She asked Anakin, pointing to the carton.

"That says orange juice." He told her, Ashoka frowned at him. "It's the juice of an orange, which is a fruit, that has already been mixed with water to dilute it, otherwise it has a really strong taste." He explained to her.

Ashoka nodded. "I wish I could read." She said gloomily.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it in a while." Anakin assured her. "Just think of the words you can say and the letters in them, and match it to the words."

Ashoka sighed. "I don't understand." She said.

"Okay, after breakfast I'll give you a HoloBook to read, when you find a word that you cant read just ask me about it." Anakin told her.

"But I don't know how to read any words." Ashoka replied. "I'll be asking you every few seconds."

"Not if you use the force to help you learn," Anakin said. "its fine, just trust what it tells you. Now lets eat, you haven't eaten a proper meal for most of your life and you'll die if you don't eat now."

Ashoka stared at him wide eyed, did he mean that if she didn't eat this meal she would die? "No, if you don't eat regularly then you will die." Anakin told Ashoka; she glared at him for reading her mind again. "You should eat three meals a day, and some things in between if you want a snack."

Ashoka nodded. "Okay, I think I understand that now." She said. The concept was easy enough to grasp. Like Anakin had said, she was eleven and could learn things quickly now that she was not in the Jedi temple.

They started eating and Ashoka found that the cereal tasted quite nice, but the milk was really strange and she found that if she drank it too fast she got a really bad stomach ache. Over the course of breakfast, Anakin began teaching Ashoka how to read some things. He used the words that were written on the box of cereal to teach her the words that everyone knew, and how to spell them. Ashoka caught on quickly and found that reading was much better than not understanding what something said. After a while, and once they had both finished their breakfast, Anakin came up with an idea that they should play a game so that Ashoka could learn to read and spell words easier. Something called 'scrabble', which Ashoka knew absolutely nothing about. The only game she had played was with Barris and it was to guess what time someone would show up to torture more Jedi, which wasn't a very happy game to play.

Anakin led Ashoka into the lounge and pulled out a game from a separate set of shelves to the one that the HoloVids were on, along with a dictionary that Anakin had told her about. It was a book, she knew, and had words inside which told you what other words meant. Maybe she would be able to learn how to read easier this way.

He put it on the coffee table and set up a board, tiles rack to place the tiles on before explaining the game, which sounded simple enough. Anakin handed Ashoka the dictionary before he ran off to retrieve something that he had been given a few years ago. Ashoka opened the dictionary, unable to help her curiosity, and looked at what was inside. There were loads of words that she did not understand, but she could see the words that Anakin had told her and tried to read the first page.

_A – the first letter in the alphabet._

That was all that she could read, and it was more than a little annoying. The other words didnt look like much to her, she tried reading the next sentence.

_A~#!?/ - a ci#* in &*#* ^%£\|¬_

Ashoka frowned, it looked really strange to her and she only understood a few words of it. She tried again but it just looked stranger to her and it made her head hurt whenever she tried to read the words that she did not know. Anakin walked back into the room holding something that resembled a book, but it was really old and the pages had turned a yellowy colour from age. He held the book out for Ashoka to take, and she took it slowly, curious about what was inside it.

Ashoka looked up at Anakin for an explanation. "This is a book that has myths and legends inside," He explained. "it has myths that come from planets when they did not know how to travel in space and legends from even older times. It's a good way to learn about the galaxy, and a way to learn how to read."

"It's really old." Was all that Ashoka could say, and Anakin smiled at her. The book was really thick and really heavy, but her arms were as thin as twigs from life in the temple so that was probably only because of how weak she was.

"It's only as old as the things inside of it," Anakin said. "but yes, it is _really_ old." He walked around the coffee table and sat down on the other side. Ashoka placed the book on the floor next to her and they began to play the game. It was actually more fun than it looked and Anakin put down his tiles, which had all of the letters of the alphabet on them, and made words that Ashoka had to ask him about.

"That's the word 'Jedi'." Anakin explained to her when she asked him what it said. "I'm surprised you don't know that one."

Ashoka felt a little ashamed that she could not even spell the word that she was. She looked at her own tiles with curiosity, what word's could she spell? The dictionary was left, by Anakin, next to her and she skimmed through it to see what words she could make. She came across a word that she did not know, and could not say, but put It down anyway; Anakin looked at her to see if she knew what it was, but she looked as confused as she felt by it.

"You don't know what that is, do you?" He asked her; Ashoka shook her head. "It's 'magic'."

"Really?" She asked him. "I always thought magic would have a 'j' and a 'k' in it." Ashoka told him.

Anakin chuckled. "It sounds like it, but it doesn't. Words often sound different to how they're spelled, its just the way things are. You'll learn to live with it." Ashoka thought about it and decided that, yes she would be able to live with it, but it was a very stupid thing. The words should have been spelled the way they were pronounced, no wonder spelling things was so hard. If she did not have a dictionary next to her she would not have known how to spell a thing, but now she did. In fact, she could spell lots of things now and was able to read some more words than before. This was a very good way to learn how to read and spell, just as Anakin had said; Ashoka started to realise that whatever Anakin had told her so far was the truth and was much kinder than what anyone who wasn't a Jedi had said to her.

The game lasted for several hours, according to the chrono on the table; Anakin had taught her how to tell the time as well. Anakin won, obviously, but Ashoka had gotten far more words that she thought she would, and she could actually read now. Not anything too complicated or flashy, but she could read the simple things, like in a normal book she could read most of the words and read all of the words that were on cartons and the covers of HoloVids and HoloBooks. Ashoka was happy that she could read, now no stormtroopers could make fun of her, like they had on Coruscant, for being less intelligent than them. One time a few younglings had started crying because of what the stormtroopers had said to them, and Ashoka had told them to stop. She had been smacked around the face for it, and she had been seven at the time.

Ashoka did not want to admit it, but she _hated_ stormtroopers. They followed orders and didnt really have a mind of their own, which made them soulless and not really human. She had only seen one of them without their helmet on, and he looked like a humanoid; Ashoka suspected that all of the stormtroopers were men and each was human, because the emperor valued humanoids above all else. They were the _dominant_ race. This was just because the emperor was a humanoid and Vader was... what was he anyway? He couldnt be human, he was more of a machine; he walked around in a suit which meant that he had to be a machine, what else could he be?

Anakin packed the game away and turned on the HoloNet again, more things were going on in the galaxy because of the empire and Ashoka found it all very interesting, especially the reports about the Jedi. But the HoloNet reporter made them sound like savages who had been imprisoned in the temple for a reason and, to her curiosity, the reporter started talking about how the people who were against the empire were going to use the Jedi against the empire if they were released. She did not know why he was saying that, it was more than common knowledge, and there was no need to even talk about the Jedi, the galaxy didn't care about them as far as she knew, if they did then they would have rescued them long ago.

Anakin, on the over hand, did not seem surprised by this at all. He had been watching the HoloNet for much longer than she had, since she had only watched it on one day, and knew much more about how the galaxy was run, and the way that things were done and said; he was the only person she knew that could explain all of these things to her, the temple younglings had about as much idea as she had, none of them knew a thing. She felt like a stranger to a world she was supposed to have lived in, but been taken out of by a cruel twist of fate, that twist of fate being the sith. Ashoka knew about the way that the sith were enemies of the Jedi, but she did not know much else about them. They could use the force well, she had seen, and used it to kill people who she knew well and cared about.

Curious about what things were like in the past, Ashoka took the book that Anakin had given her and opened it slowly, afraid that the book would fall apart if she opened it too fast. The pages had the first letters made really big and they were coloured red and looked lke ribbons, this was the same for the start of every paragraph and sometimes the letters were coloured blue or green instead of red. There were strange words around the sides and a few pictures of white animals with wings holding up ribbons which had numbers on them and a word that said 'chapter' but Ashoka did not understand it. On the first page, in the ribbon, it read 'The City Of Mercury', underneath that was the word that she did not understand again.

"Anakin?" Ashoka began. "What does 'chapter' mean?" She asked.

"Well, its usually one segment of a story with a number or title, that book most probably has it as a number." Anakin explained to her. "In other cases it can be a segment of a persons life, but in this case it is the segment of a story." Ashoka nodded; Anakin had told her that segment meant the same thing as a part of something when they were playing a game, so she did not have to ask what that meant. Now it made much more sense, they had numbered each part of the stories inside the book so that it was easier to read; Ashoka found this to be a very good idea.

She began reading about a man who had gone on an exploration mission to a strange planet that the galaxy had not known about before, this planet was called Titan, and it was supposedly the twin planet of Iego. Titan and Iego's gravitational pull on one another had become so great that Titan had been blown to pieces, and created the moons around Iego. The explorer was going to one of the moons that had given off very strange signals whilst the others where going to the planets surface and the moons closest to the planet to make sure that no one on the surface had been injured. On the moon, the explorer came across three strange beings who could do things with their magical powers - Ashoka wondered if this really was magic - and showed the explorer to their temple that they had built, which was within a city made entirely out of the galaxy's rarest substance, mercury. He was given a bed for the night and the three beings talked to him about how they were waiting for the arrival of the one who was known as 'The Prince Of The Force Wielders' and of how he would bring peace to the galaxy and end their war with something that they dared not name. The explorer left the moon and told his bosses of what he had seen and found, but when he went back, the moon was gone and the explorers were all baffled by how it had disappeared. The man was fired from his job and lived many years regretting the fact that the moon and its inhabitants had vanished forever, but on his death bed he was transported to the moon once more and the three beings healed him and thanked him for not pursuing them; they made him one of them and the moon vanished once again.

Ashoka frowned and looked up from the book. Force wielders? They werent people who used magic, they could just use the force! But people at that time would have known about the force, Jedi would have existed in the time of space travel wouldn't they? And who was the prince of the force wielders anyway? No one was that powerful, she was sure of it, so who could that possibly be? Ashoka found this legend very interesting and almost didnt want to read on in the book to see the other myths and legends, but if any of them were as good as this one had been then she wanted to read this book over and over again. But, before she did, she decided to ask Anakin about someone who could be that powerful.

"Anakin?" Ashoka began. "This first legend, The City Of Mercury, it talks about a 'prince of the force wielders', who could be powerful enough to control people as strong in the force as force wielders are?" She questioned him.

Anakin seemed to stiffen for a moment before sighing and turning to face her. "Ashoka, what do you know about the legend of the chosen one?" He questioned her carefully.

"Are you kidding?" Ashoka said. "Every Jedi knows about that, its the one thing we have hope in."

"Yes." Anakin remembered. "It's also at the back of the book. The chosen one is the only person who could be the one that this legend refers to, and I'm not feeling too happy about becoming the prince of the force wielders if I'm honest with you."

Ashoka's eyes widened; had he just said? Was this the reason that the council trusted him? "Y-you're the chosen one?" She asked in disbelief.

Anakin smiled at her. "Apparently so, according to the Jedi council and every sith in the galaxy anyway. The emperor could sense it before I was even born apparently, and he wanted me to become a sith, but my mother wouldnt allow it, so he forced Vader to kill her for it when I was young."

"That's horrible." Ashoka said. "Is she Vader's mother too?"

"She was, yes." Anakin said sadly. "Which is why I didnt believe the emperor when he told me, but Vader's reaction to my question was all I needed to know. We used to be a lot closer than we are now until I learned of what he did, and I dont think I'll ever trust him again."

Ashoka nodded. "So, if you're the chosen one' why does Palpatine let you live? Surely he would kill you as quickly as possible?"

"He cant." Anakin told her. "The chosen one is protected by the force, luckily for me, and cannot die until they have done everything that the force has told them to do. I'm going to be alive for a long time because I have to destroy the sith, _and_ become the prince of force wielders, _and _defeat whatever has them scared to death, which wont be easy I'm guessing."

Ashoka nodded; it certainly sounded hard. She wondered if he was in the next myth or legend that was in the book and turned the page to see the title of the next story. It was a myth. The title was 'Jedi of the force', which made Ashoka become very interested very quickly. A story about a Jedi was something that she had wanted to read ever since she had learned how, a few hours ago, but she had always wanted to listen to one. Eager to learn more, Ashoka began to read.

This story was about someone who's name was Jedi and he was the first force sensitive to use the force to do good in the galaxy instead of hiding himself and his powers away from the prying eyes of people who wanted to capture them and get these powers for themselves. He was the bravest person in the galaxy, according to some people, and went from planet to planet finding force sensitive people and asking them to join his cause. They all joined with him and they pushed evil and corruption out of the galaxy until they reached the planet of Coruscant and their journey was over. Most of them had lost their homes or had nothing to go back too, so Jedi made a huge home for them all to stay in and practise their use of the force. This place became known as the Jedi temple, named after Jedi when he died, and they brought in force sensitive children from around the galaxy and took the name the Jedi order. There was a Jedi code established after someone became hateful and angry and tried to kill many Jedi with a red lightsaber, opposed to the green, blue, purple and yellow ones of the Jedi. This rogue Jedi became a sith and took an apprentice, they fought against the Jedi for many years until the master was finally killed and they thought they were at peace at last. But the apprentice became the master and the exact same thing continued to happen over and over again; it was rumoured that if there was a foe too great for the Jedi to handle, then the chosen one (surprise, surprise, Ashoka thought) would be brought into the galaxy to deal with it; if this foe was able to hold their own agaisnt the chosen one for more than the force was comfortable with, Jedi would be brought back from the dead where he lay encased in his tomb below the Jedi temple to defend the force's child because, like any father, the force was extremely protective of its child.

Ashoka liked this legend too, mainly because it was about the Jedi, but also because it had Anakin in it, though his name was never spoken since no one knew it at the time. When the temple was finally free and the empire destroyed, Ashoka wondered if she could ask Master Plo about this legend and see whether or not it was true. The book was so old that it looked as though even the Jedi council might not remember, but there was always a chance.


	15. Chapter 14

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 3**_

Ahsoka found that she loved reading much more than she had thought she would, and the book that Anakin had given her was one of the best books she had ever read. In fact, it was the only book she'd read so far, but she had only read two of the stories inside of it - a legend and a myth - and was already eager to read more. Whoever had decided to put all of these legends and myths into one book was a genius, and she had counted the number of pages. There was a thousand and seven pages in the book; she had a lot of reading to do. It was nearing noon and Ahsoka did not want to have lunch because she too content reading a legend called 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' and did not want to have to stop reading.

The legend was about these seven guardians who each wielded the power of the force to an extraordinary level and kept watch over the seven sectors of the galaxy, maintaining peace in each one. But then, without warning, the first and oldest guardian turned on the others and used his sector to destroy theirs and conquer them for his own. The first guardian had been given the most powerful sector to look after the weaker ones, but he had used his power for his own gain. Ahsoka thought that this represented the empire in a way and wondered if this legend might actually be true, because if it was then there would be six guardians out there who were ready to take control of the galaxy and keep it safe once the first one was gone.

Ahsoka was just getting to the part where the first guardian used his power to strike out at the others, only for them to get away, when Anakin's voice interrupted her reading. "It's noon, Ahsoka." He informed her. "Where do you want to have lunch?" He asked.

Ahsoka thought about it, she could not move and keep reading about the legend with the seven guardians, or go into the kitchen and not make a mess. Either way she would have to put the book down at some point, and that was not something she was eager to do. But if she stayed in the lounge, they could watch something instead of sit in silence for minutes at a time whilst Ahsoka was too nervous and cautious of Anakin to speak to him for long periods of time.

"Can we have it in here again?" She asked him.

Anakin smiled and nodded. "Sure." He replied. "I'll put on a HoloVid if you want?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Okay, but which one?"

"There are over a hundred HoloVids in there and some of them even I haven't watched, so we could watch a movie about a legend." He suggested; Ahsoka's eyes lit up at the subject, she loved legends and myths. "There is a set of films about a god trapped in the universe who had to find his way home and on the way falls in love, but there are six movies about it."

"I dont mind." Ahsoka said, shrugging.

"We will most probably be up all night if we watch them all back to back, and after what you went through at the temple, that isn't going to happen. Each one is about three hours, so we can watch three today and three tomorrow." Anakin decided. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine." Ahsoka replied. There were a few questions in her mind that sounded ridiculous, but she had to ask. Otherwise she would be asking herself them for all eternity. "But, Anakin, why are the pillows in my room so comfy? I didn't think that Jedi were allowed anything like that and I didn't even know that pillows were like that."

Anakin chuckled. "You really don't know much about the galaxy, do you?" He asked with a smile. "Well its simple really, in the temple things were like a prison, and a horrible prison at that, but here you actually live in a good place with good conditions. That's why everything feels strange to you, because you lived in the worst place in the galaxy for nine years."

Ahsoka nodded. "So, I wont be going back to the temple then?" She questioned. "Ever?"

"Well, maybe one day you might go back, but not now, and definitely not until you are at least four years older, maybe more. If you ever do go back to the temple it will only be because it has been freed and the empire is destroyed or because we are going there to free it ourselves. There might be other circumstances but I cant think of any now." Anakin concluded. "What kind of sandwiches do you like?"

"Sandwiches?" Ahsoka asked; he was talking about some kind of food again.

Anakin smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'll get the droid to make some different types so you cant try them all." He said. "That way you wont have to wait forever for me to come back and for the HoloVid to start." He walked into the kitchenette and Ahsoka immediately went back to reading about the seven guardians. The first guardian was being very cautious as he decided to turn upon the others.

_Crouched like a nexu about to strike its prey, the guardian stayed upon the rock that he was now perched on and surveyed his fellow guardians as they talked with one another about the chaos that had spread through their parts of the galaxy and could not trace the source. Naturally they blamed each other, the fools, but it was not until one clever guardian, the youngest, pointed out that the first guardian was not there. A murmuring began and the order was swift and simply; the bolts of shimmering light rained down upon the six unsuspecting guardians and the first guardian was certain that they were now dead. With a smirk, he leapt off of his perch to survey their dead bodies, but found none. They had escaped from him, but how? None knew he was there, nor did they know his intentions. Someone had told them his plan._

Anakin walked back into the room and interrupted Ahsoka's reading by walking over to the case of HoloVids and taking out six of them without bothering to quieten his movements or realise that she was reading again. Ahsoka closed the book, memorising the page number, and placed it gently onto the table beside the couch to read later on. Swiftly, Anakin came over to the coffee table and placed down the six cases for Ahsoka to see. They certainly looked as though they would be exciting to watch, and they were numbered too so that people knew which one came first. It looked a little strange though, and the number at the bottom of the fifth one said 12+ in a round circle. Ahsoka was not over 12 years old and frowned.

"The fifth one says that you have to be 12 or over to watch it," Ahsoka said. "I'm only eleven."

"You can watch it if an adult is with you." Anakin explained to her.

"And you're an adult?" She asked him. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen." He replied. Ahsoka looked at him closely. Seventeen? She had thought he looked twenty-one, he certainly had a face that did not have the innocence of a seventeen year old. Something must have happened in his life... ah yes, the death of his mother.

"Does that count as an adult?" Ahsoka asked him.

Anakin smirked. "Most likely not, but I am older than sixteen so I can supervise you as we watch it."

"Why does it say that you must be over twelve to watch that one?" She asked him.

"Because in that one he is infected by evil and forces the women he loves to stay with him." Anakin explained. "I wont say any more because that would spoil the movie and when people do that it isn't exactly fun to watch anymore."

Ahsoka nodded. "Okay then." She replied. Anakin placed the first disc that came from the first case of the HoloVids into the strange silver box just below the screen; the box had a slit where the disc went in and Ahsoka wondered if that was how it played the movies or not. A strange looking thing came wobbling in on two legs with point ear type things and glowing eyes; in its hands where large plates of bread with things inside of them. Ahsoka had no idea what the thing carrying them was, but Anakin had called it a droid, and the things on the plate had to be the sandwiches he was talking about.

They looked different to one another. There was white bread on most of them with loads of different coloured things in the middle of each one and on a few there was a strange looking bread that looked much more bulky then the other ones. Things seemed fairly strange to her now. She could read, which wasn't a bad thing, spell some words and tell the time; Anakin had taught her all of these things in a little under a day. Ahsoka doubted very much that any Jedi would have been able to teach these things in the amount of time that he did, or use a game to make it easier to learn. In fact, she was certain that many Jedi masters would think of using a game as immature and un-Jedi like; Anakin was most likely the opposite of a Jedi in every way, except for the fact that he was not a sith and not evil, Ahsoka was sure.

The droid set the plate of sandwiches onto the coffee table, with some more drinks that she recognised two of. There was water and a glass of milk, there was also an orange coloured drink, which she guessed was orange juice, and a strange purple coloured drink. There were two of each one, no doubt, for both her and Anakin so they did not have to pick and choose which ones they wanted. It seemed strange that Anakin could not go long without eating something when Ahsoka could go whole days; it was a habit from the Jedi temple that Anakin had told her was a bad one to have, so she had to eat whenever she was hungry to break it.

The HoloScreen turned a strange black colour as the droid hobbled out of the room and the film started. Ahsoka watched as the title came on with a frown, who was Zeus? It had to be the title of the film, or maybe even something more significant to it, but Ahsoka was not too bothered about it. She took one of the sandwiches that had a sticky red substance inside, which smelled vaguely familiar to her, and took a bite out of it. It was the strawberry jam that had been on her toast that morning. It tasted nice, and there was something in there with it that made it taste even better, but she grimaced as she looked at another sandwich with a pink thing in the middle. Ahsoka finished her jam sandwich slowly and, hesitantly, picked up the one that looked horrible to her. She took a bite out of it and grimaced again, it was disgusting!

Anakin chuckled at her. "You don't like ham sandwiches either, huh?" He asked her.

Ahsoka shook her head and put the sandwich down on an empty corner of the plate. "It tastes worse than the stale bread at the temple," She informed him. "and that had most likely been soaked in the pee on the floor."

Anakin grimaced. "That does sound pretty bad," He said. "did you eat any of it? The bread that had been on the temple floor?"

"No." Ahsoka admitted. "People said I was being fussy, but I didn't want to get ill and die like some of the others had. I only ate stuff that had gone on to the clean parts of the floor, and there weren't many of them."

Anakin nodded. "I don't blame you for being picky, you'd probably have shortened your life by twenty years if you had eaten every piece of that food in the temple." Ahsoka had not known that, and the thought that many of the Jedi in the temple would lose twenty years of their lives was not one that she was overly keen on. They sat there, each on a separate couch, eating sandwiches and watching the HoloVids. It was actually better than Ahsoka had expected, the god called Zeus was trying to get back to his home in the clouds and he had fallen in love with a mortal. There was his evil brother Hades trying to take over the place that was Zeus' home and Zeus had to fight against him without getting the women he loved killed or getting his home destroyed. It did not seem like a hard task for a god, he could easily use his powers to get rid of his brother, but the man seemed intent on never using them and doing everything the hard way; Ahsoka wondered vaguely if he was doing this because he was stupid.

When the first HoloVid ended, Ahsoka felt confused. The god chose the life that he had always had over the person he loved, which seemed completely irrational. But then again, his way back to her was blocked by the fact that he was engaged in a never ending war with his evil brother. Ahsoka thought that this seemed like a very strange thing to happen, when she remembered that none of this was actually real and felt much better about the whole thing. It was half past three in the afternoon and Ahsoka felt extremely tired for some reason, which made her confused. She had never been tired in the temple and was used to being awake and being tortured for twelve hours of the day whilst being awake for five more. Ahsoka was never tired now, so why was she tired at half past three in the afternoon?

Ahsoka stifled a yawn behind her hand and Anakin gave her a knowing look. "Tired?" He asked her with a small smile.

"Yes." Ahsoka replied. "Though I don't know why, I was never tired in the temple and we were awake for seventeen hours each day."

"That's because your body was used to being awake for so long, and now you aren't being tortured or being forced to live in horrible conditions and your lack of sleep is catching up with you." Anakin explained. "You will most likely be like this for a few days, and sleep until the next morning."

Ahsoka frowned. "So, I should go to sleep now?" She asked him.

"To be honest, you should have stayed in bed since the day you got out of the temple, but I wasn't going to let you stay in a cell and the medical droid said that your body had to realise it was tired before you spent more time in bed." Anakin explained. "So you probably should, if you don't want to fall asleep on the couch that is."

Ahsoka nodded. "How long should I stay in bed before I'm not tired all of the time?"

"A few days at the most." Anakin replied. "But you don't always have to be asleep, so you can just read your book when you're awake if you'd like. Or I could bring you some HoloBooks, if you'd like?"

Ahsoka replied. "I don't know any HoloBooks to read, though. So I think I'll just read the book about legends and myths for now."

Anakin smiled. "If you want," He said. "but when you finish reading it I'll bring in some HoloBooks to read and you can decide which ones you like and which ones you don't like."

"Okay." Ahsoka replied. "So I just get out of bed when I don't feel tired?"

Anakin nodded in response. "But over the next few days you should probably keep your pyjamas on, you'll be sleeping for three quarters of the day and in bed for all of the time that you are tired."

"What about if I get hungry?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'll bring something in for you if you're in bed and if you're not tired then I'll eat with you in the kitchen, or in here." Anakin informed her.

Ahsoka thought about it; staying in bed did not seem like such a bad idea, but walking around in her pyjamas with Vader around seemed a little strange. She had only ever faced the dark lord in clothes that hurt her skin, or – like yesterday – when they made her feel strangely alert. Pyjamas made her feel drowsy and comfortable, which she supposed was why people wore them as they slept, which didn't seem like the suitable attire to be wearing around Darth Vader. But then again, as Anakin had told her, Vader did not come into the area where they lived very often; she had not seen him so far today but had heard him enter his quarters, perhaps his argument with Anakin made him stay away from them?

"Now get to bed and rest," Anakin told her. "or you'll feel terrible come morning."

Ahsoka stood up, with the book in her hands, and walked into her room feeling even more tired than before. Practically ever one of her muscles was screaming in protest as she walked over to the bed, placed the book on top of the sheets and changed into her pyjamas. She was confused about why she had not felt them aching the day before, but did not bother thinking about it as she placed her clothes into the wash basket and her leg gave a strange lurching sensation before feeling as if it was on fire. Wincing, Ahsoka crawled under the sheets of her bed and lay on her back with her head propped up against the pillows and began reading the next story in her book.

This was a myth about flying creatures known as 'dragons' which could breath fire and fly in space with their wings beating on the atoms around them so that they could get from one place to the other. This myth was only half a page long and had a picture of one of the dragons below it, which was coloured red and had horns sticking out of its spine and skin stretching over its wings. Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders, closed the book and put it on her bedside table where there was now a chrono. Relaxing into the comfort of her bed, Ahsoka could not help how the moment her eyes closed she fell asleep, not worried about whether or not Vader would hurt her, because Anakin was still awake.


	16. Chapter 15

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 4**_

Sleep was something that Ahsoka found lasted, seemingly, forever. Or at least it did that night. She slept from three til nine and awoke to do a little bit of re-reading on the seven guardians before falling back asleep until seven in the morning, where she began to have really violent dreams. In her dreams, Vader was torturing each member of the Jedi council and the emperor was tormenting them with the news of her dead s she watched in horror. She tried to shout that she was still alive and safe, but her words could not be heard by even herself and she could sense Master Plo's sadness at her 'death'. Things were becoming more and more disturbing until the emperor used force lightning to lift up Master Yoda and take him out of the council room, his screams echoing off of the walls as he went. Ahsoka sat up straight instantly and looked around for Barris to comfort her, and tell her everything was okay. But she was not in the Jedi temple, she could not even comprehend where she was.

A pair of warm, strong arms circled her and brought her against a soft chest. Ahsoka frowned and realised that Barris was not there with her, these arms were not Barris'. Her arms were cuffed behind her and she could not do anything like holding Ahsoka and keeping her from crying. Ahsoka could not even begin to cry, confusion was the only thing she knew when she began to look around frantically. Her gaze turned to the person holding her and she saw that it was someone familiar, very familiar, and kind. She could not remember who he was, but he was the only person she knew was a friend and instinctively put her arms around him as he rubbed her back gently.

"It's all right, Ahsoka." He told her in a familiar voice. Ahsoka felt much better from hearing him speak. "It was just a nightmare, you're fine." He assured her.

Nightmare? What was that? Oh yes, the bad dreams she had. She had been told that by Anakin -

_Anakin._

She remembered him and everything that had happened in a flash, it was such a big change, but the one thing that she knew was that she was in _Anakin's_ arms. A man she hardly knew, though he was only seventeen, but who was polite and kind to her. Ahsoka frowned and decided that she was feeling much better now, the nightmare had no lingering effect on her if she did not dwell on it - like Anakin had told her not to - and she would be fine. Hastily, Ahsoka pushed herself out of Anakin's arms and instantly missed the way that he made her feel better; but she was not someone who took comfort from someone she barely knew and lived in the same place as Darth Vader, like she did now.

Anakin watched her with a confused expression, and a hint of understanding shown in his eyes as he let her go; Ahsoka watched him wearily, forcing the tears that had welled up in her eyes to disappear. She shifted away from him slightly on the bed, watching him cautiously.

"Are you all right, Ahsoka?" He asked her in concern. Ahsoka surveyed him with narrowed eyes, unsure of whether or not she approved of seeing him shirtless and letting him hold her whilst she was distressed. "You were thrashing around in your sleep; you were having a pretty violent nightmare."

Ahsoka was silent as she watched him still, her cautiousness and paranoia from her nightmare flaring just slightly as the thought crossed her mind that he was going to make her trust him before killing her or plagueing her with nightmares, this thought was squashed when the effects of the nightmare eased off and she remembered that she had had many nightmares during her time at the Jedi temple, only this time there was someone to comfort her. Just someone she wasnt entirely sure about yet.

"I'm fine." Ahsoka replied in an emotionless tone; the nightmare had triggered a very unintelligent part of her brain which told her Anakin was evil and that she would rather be back in the temple with Barris. It had also lowered that barriers around her mind completely so that Anakin could sense every little thought that came into her head, and he did not seem inclined to let her keep thinking about the situation the way she was. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and, using the force, cleared away the dark thoughts that surrounded her mind and left her completely vunderable, with no good memories yet returning to her mind. Her eyes turned confused and innocent instead of shocked and cautious as she stared up at Anakin.

He smiled softly down at her. "Ahsoka, everything is fine." He assured her. "You might be in a place that isnt familiar to you, but no one will hurt you here. Now are you hungry? Do you want to eat breakfast to help calm down?" He asked her nicely. Ahsoka did feel hungry, and with the effects of her nightmare gone thanks to Anakin intervening with the force, she was quick to answer.

"Yes please."

Anakin smiled at her and stood up straight; Ahsoka sat up straighter and slowly pulled back the covers before getting out of bed and hearing a click from her leg, which she had twisted awkwardly after her nightmare. Sleepily, Ahsoka followed Anakin out of her room and to the kitchenette, where he began making breakfast and she sat down at the table with a yawn. Somehow the idea of getting out of bed the moment she woke up did not apeal to Ahsoka, who vowed that tomorrow she would spend more time in bed so that she could wake up properly in comfort and peace.

Anakin made breakfast like a pro, which was an understatement. Ahsoka crossed her arms on the table and rested her head in them sleepily whilst watching Anakin do all sorts of strange things with the breakfast he was making, such as tossing it into the air and catching it in something before going on to do something completely different. It certainly smelled sweet, and looked more than appetising.

Ahsoka felt the need to fall asleep and the fear of having another one of her nightmares; she settled for staying awake to eat something before getting back to bed and - if sleep was hard to come by - read her book. To be honest, Ahsoka had not really felt this tired and despised the sith for imprisoning every Jedi inside of the temple, even if they were only two years old - like she had been. She was the youngest youngling that was in the temple when it was taken over, since the empire had prevented any new force sensitives from coming to Coruscant and becoming a Jedi, and was still the youngest Jedi to date. Because of this, she knew the least about everything and was the least skilled out of every Jedi; Ahsoka did not like being behind on anything and regretted being born into such an age for the Jedi order, but what could she have done about when she going to be born?

Anakin turned around and placed a plate in front of her and one in front of him, with a drink of water and a glass of milk for Ahsoka and something blue – which she guessed was blue milk - beside his own plate. Slowly, Ahsoka began to eat her breakfast, too tired to eat any faster than she was now, and Anakin started a conversation between the two of them. It was about what food she liked, and how she had prefered it made so far. Ahsoka said that she prefered her food when he made it – which made Anakin blush slightly – but said that she did not like it when that strange metal thing made it.

"You mean the droid?" Anakin asked with a smile.

"Yes that," Ahsoka confirmed. "I don't like the way it walks around when it isn't alive."

Anakin chuckled. "It's because of how someone made it, the mechanics are what make it work."

Ahsoka frowned. "What are mechanics?" She asked him.

Anakin's food paused half way to his mouth. "You don't know what mechanics are?" Ahsoka shook her head at him. "At least tell me you know what engineering is?" Ahsoka shook her head again and Anakin fixed her with a stare. "That's it," Anakin said finally after long moments of silence. "the moment you're healthy I'm teaching you about engineering and mechanics."

"So, what will we be doing?" She asked him.

"Building droids," He explained. "fixing things and, probably, using numbers to build data DNA for the droids. It's complicated but improves your arithmatic a lot."

"Arithmatic?"

"Maths." Anakin explained. "Where you work with numbers."

"Okay." Ahsoka replied, taking a large bite out of what she was eating whilst thinking about building droids. It seemed strange that something metal could move around when there was not indication to how it was moving around when it was not alive, and these droids could do things like make lunch and – according to some whispers at the temple – kill people.

Anakin began explaining to Ahsoka about what engineering and mechanics were as they finished their breakfast; she even recieved a few more books to read whilst she was in bed so that she could learn about it and improve her reading at the same time, killing two birds with one stone, as he called it. When they finished their breakfast, Ahsoka went back to her room and climbed into bed whilst putting her pile of engineering books on the bedside table, and her pile of mechanics books beside it. Now her table was filled with nothing but books, books that would – no doubt – be read many times. Ahsoka wondered vaguely – her mind drifting to the future for the hundreth time – what would become of the things that she gained here when she left and went back to the Jedi temple; Ahsoka was certain that she would be going back there and that the empire would, eventually, be defeated.

Though she was extremely tired, Ahsoka did not want to go back to sleep and simply began reading about 'Astromech and Protocol Droids'; it was one of the books that Anakin had given her to read. At first it was slightly boring as it talked about getting all your tools and stuff ready, which Ahsoka knew she would not be doing anyway, but after that it came up with a picture of an astromech droid; a green astromech droid. There was a section that revealed what was inside of it and each part was labelled so that Ahsoka knew which part went where.

It was quite interesting to read since the galaxy was completely new to her, and she had been raised in the foulest of places. Theoretically, she had not been raised by anyone, which was why everything was more than strange to her; at this rate Anakin would be the one who ended up raising her. There was also a lot about protocol droids, which – she saw – had been annotated by someone, most likely Anakin, which made building a protocol droid seem a lot easier than it had before. There were words written around the page that made everything seem much easier, there was even a step by step guide for building a protocol droid that branched out across the pages that the original writing was on, but with much easier instructions that even Ahsoka could follow.

There were the names of many types of protocol droids and, writen in the corner of the page, the name C3PO was clearly done in Anakin's handwriting; Ahsoka wondered briefly if he had been building a droid for fun. There were also little tips in between paragraphs, things like 'Use magnesium instead of phospherus, burns bighter' which she did not know a thing about. After reading through the entire book, which - with Anakin's extra notes - took a few hours, she picked up a book on ships and speeders. This too had some annotations on it, but not as many as the book on droids had. Ahsoka did find this book interesting, but the moment she finished reading it she picked up her book on legends and myths again, suddenly bored of reading about equations and how the reactions caused the momentum of the ships in space.

Ahsoka yawned as she opened her book to the next story that she had to read, this one was ten pages long and looked as though it would be very interesting to read. This one was a myth about the opposites of the witches of Dathomier, who were wizards and lived in a different plane so that the witches could not find them. Both sides were sworn enemies because of what the night mother had done thousands of years ago to the wizards for one of them breaking her heart. This had resulted in a hundred year was between the two sides, before the Jedi of the time had intervened and the wizards had retreated to avoid the Jedi finding out about them; the nightsisters faced the Jedi and, in the end, ordered them off of the planet and forbade them to return to prosecute them upon pain of death.

_How strange,_ Ahsoka thought. _What are the nightsisters?_

_They're a race of witches who live on Dathomier. _A familiar voice answered in her head. Ahsoka cried out in surprise, before realising that it was Anakin's voice she was hearing and cursing him in her own language quietly.

_Get out of my head!_ She thought back angrily. _Is no place sacred?_

_I'm not in your head, Ahsoka. It's a way of silently communicating with one another through the force, it must have happened when you were upset about your nightmare and I used the force to clear your mind. Sorry about that. _Anakin's voice came back.

Ahsoka groaned. _Is there anyway for it not to happen when I'm thinking to myself?_

_Yes, there's a specific part in your mind that holds the force bond we now share. Just try and avoid it when you dont want to talk to me, it should be easy since you have to really think about it to start talking with me through the force._

_Then how did I start talking with you this time?_

_Accidental. Happens when the bond first forms as a test run, dont worry about it. Now are you tired, or not?_

Ahsoka did not feel tired, but she did feel bored from reading those books with things that she did not fully understand yet. Reading about the legend on Dathomier had made her feel slightly better, but she still felt that she had to do something, that and the fact that her stomach was grumbling and the chrono said that she had been in bed from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. She was not going to say anything to Anakin, thinking that he could hear her, when she realised that she wasnt talking to him through the force anymore. He was right, you had to really focus to begin talking with someone through a force bond.

Focusing on the new part of her mind that was connected to Anakin, Ahsoka began to talk with him again.

_I'm not tired; I feel like I need to do something instead of just staying in bed, and I'm a little hungry._

_Come into the lounge, then, and I'll get you something to eat. _Anakin's voice replied. _You can practise with a training saber against one of the training droids._

_In my pyjamas? _Ahsoka questioned. _And I dont know how to use a training saber or lightsaber, I'll be beaten easily._

_No you wont, I'll put it on the lowest setting. If you dont want to fight in your pyjamas then you can get dressed before coming to eat._

_All right. _Ahsoka cut of the connection with ease, and eagerly got out of bed. She had never learned how to fight before, and it would be interesting to find out exactly how it was done. Changing into her clothes, Ahsoka made a quick trip to the 'fresher before walking out of her room and finding Anakin sat on one of the couches with a plate of food in his lap, and another on the coffee table. There were also some sweets in a bowl, and another bowl which held something that smelled salty.

"What are those?" She asked Anakin, pointing to the things in the other bowl.

"Oh, they're crisps." Anakin explained. "Salt and vinegar flavoured crisps to be exact. There are loads of different types and flavours, like sweets and chocolate."

"Chocolate?"

"I'll show you after you finish eating." Anakin informed her. "Those three foods are the favourites of just about every child in the galaxy, so you should like them. If you dont, there are other flavours in the cupboard, so you can just grab a bag of the ones you think taste nice." Ahsoka didnt know what to make of it. She had no idea how to make her own food, so the idea of just walking into the kitchenette and taking something to eat was a welcoming one.

Ahsoka sat down on the couch and began to eat; she could not believe that she had lived nine years of her life without eating meals like this. If this was just because of the way they were made, Anakin had to be the best chef in the galaxy. Strangely, the foods that most children in the galaxy ate - according to Anakin - only made her want to eat them more, or at least eat something else. This feeling was almost gut wrenching as it reminded her of life at the temple, so she simply ate what was on her plate and only the sweets, to avoid feeling hungry for the rest of the day. Feeling hungry meant remembering about the temple, and after being away from the temple she did not want to go back to being tortured by sith lords and taunted by stormtroopers. She did, however, want to return and free the Jedi, so that living in those conditions again was as unlikely as cutting water.

After she had finished eating, Anakin took Ahsoka to a large room at the back that had a padded floor, seats on one side, and a few droids slumped over in the corner. There were also training sabers on a table that looked as though they had been cast aside after someone had finished with them, and Ahsoka doubted that it was Vader. Anakin walked over to the training sabers and picked one up before activating one of the droids and pressing a few buttons on its front, there was a number '0.5' displayed on a screen and Ahsoka felt slightly ashamed that she was not even on level 1 yet. Anakin walked back over to her and handed Ahsoka the training saber.

"The droid wont be too hard on you," Anakin informed her. "it will just swing at you every few seconds and if you get tired or bored just hit it with your training saber. If it hits you then it will hurt a lot, but not harm you."

Ahsoka nodded. "Okay."

Anakin walked out of the room and left Ahsoka with the droid, that was walking towards her slowly with a training saber in hand. Ahsoka ignited her own training saber, unsure of what to do, and waited until the droid reached her before reacting. The droid swung its training saber at her and Ahsoka blocked it with her own, the reaction on instinct, and waited two more seconds before the droid struck at her again, then again, and again. It was not too hard, as Anakin had said, but the training saber did feel as though it was oddly positioned in her hand, so Ahsoka turned it around the other way and began blocking the training droids strikes that way; it was much easier to fight this way.

Ahsoka spent a lot of time fighting against the training droid, which was on the level for babies Ahsoka guessed, before she started to get tired and hit it in the chest before its next strike, deactivating the droid with a spark.

Yawning, Ahsoka put down the training saber and walked out of the room to find that everything was dark and quiet, much like it had been in the temple. The chrono on the coffee table was illuminated by the stars outside of the viewport and Ahsoka saw that it was well past midnight, which she found oddly fascinating. Ahsoka walked into her room, changed into her pyjamas and crawled under the sheet of the bed, her head going instantly to the pillow. She fell asleep without so much as a sound.


	17. Chapter 16

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 5**_

Ahsoka had welcomed the sleep she had gotten for the past few days, but now it was as though the force just wanted her to suffer. She could see people being tortured again, Vader laughing at her, the emperors lightning swerving through the air to hit Barris, the screams of her friends and the never ending darkness that engulfed her. It was like hell, but as conscious thought slowly returned, though she remained asleep, there was a small light beside her. Ahsoka was floating above Barris as she cried for the loss of her friend when a light appeared to her right. Turning her head, Ahsoka was surprised to see that it was Anakin, looking at Barris sadly before looking up to Ahsoka and giving her a reassuring smile. Ahsoka did not return the smile, she couldn't, and things slowly began to get worse as she denied herself the comfort that Anakin offered her, the emperor returned and tortured Barris for fun, noticing the empty space beside her, and Vader strolled through the halls of the Jedi temple, casting lightning as whoever glanced his way, their screams were louder than anything she had heard in her life. These images sped quickly through her mind and Ahsoka woke up quickly, sitting upright so quickly that her spine clicked.

Her breathing was raged and uneven, and her face was drenched with sweat. Closing her eyes for the briefest of moments to calm herself, which failed miserably, Ahsoka looked at the chrono beside her bed and found that it was only three in the morning; she had been asleep for three hours, which was not nearly enough for her. Sadness crept up on her and she had to fight back to tears as she rushed out of bed and into the 'fresher. Sucking in a deep breath, Ahsoka wiped the sweat from her face with a towel before going back into her room and finding that it was now impossible for her to even go near her own bed, she was so afraid of having another nightmare. Swallowing hard, Ahsoka went to the only person she knew would be able to help her, Anakin.

She walked through the door that connected their rooms slowly and found that he was lying on his back with his arms behind his head. Ahsoka walked shakily towards him and his eyes opened as she drew nearer and nearer. He looked at her and frowned, before he saw that she was literally shaking and sat up straight at once. Ahsoka stopped as she watched him, wondering whether or not he would send her back to bed.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" He asked her sadly. Ahsoka was relieved that he knew exactly what was wrong so that she did not have to tell him and nodded her head shakily. He held his arms out to her. "Come here." He told her. Slowly, Ahsoka walked into his embrace and he wrapped his arms around her. At first she had no idea what to do, before she crumbled as the wall that held her emotions in check came crashing down around her and she wrapped her arms tightly around him and started to cry. It was a long while before she could even speak, and even after she stopped crying the idea of going back to sleep was a haunting thing. The chrono on the bedside table said that it was just after half past three now. Anakin's hold started to loosen, but Ahsoka merely clutched him harder.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" He asked her. Ahsoka shook her head vigorously. "Do you want to stay here?" He questioned. Ahsoka nodded her head.

Anakin shifted on the bed and soon had a blanket in his hands, which he draped around Ahsoka before helping her onto the bed and to lie down beside him. Anakin yawned, it was very early, and Ahsoka shut her eyes tightly as she tried to block out the still lingering effects of her nightmare. Anakin's presence helped a lot. He was under the duvet and Ahsoka lay on top of it with a blanket to keep her warm; she shifted unconsciously towards him and Anakin slipped an arm around her to ensure her that he was still there. After looking towards the chrono one more time, Ahsoka fell into a deep sleep that was free of nightmares and any dreams that she had could not be remembered in.

The next morning, Ahsoka woke to find that she was not in her room. She frowned as she looked around to see that she was on her own and had a blanket around her; everything frown last night came to her mind in a rush and Ahsoka had believed it to be a dream when she opened her eyes first, but apparently it wasn't. Glancing around the room to see if Anakin was anywhere nearby, she found that he was gone and the chrono said that it was just after ten in the morning. Searching around the room one last time, Ahsoka stood up and went back into her own room to find that her bed had been made and the sheets had been changed. Everything smelled wonderful to her, except for herself. After waking up in sweat for the past two nights, she smelled awful and decided to have a wash before she did anything else that day. Grabbing a set of clothes from her wardrobe, Ahsoka went into the 'fresher and came back out an hour later and thought about putting her pyjamas back under her pillow, when she saw that there was already a fresh pair there, and instead tossed them into the wash basket before walking out of her room to see that Anakin was sat on the couch reading a HoloBook.

He looked up as Ahsoka came in and smiled at her; Ahsoka smiled back, for once, and sat down on the other couch. She felt much better after not waking up feeling as though the world around her was going to come crashing down and she would be back in the temple. For once she actually felt comfortable being around Anakin, like how she was around Barris and how they would both talk and laugh and lift each others spirits with humour.

"How are you feeling?" Anakin asked.

"Much better." Ahsoka replied.

Anakin nodded. "Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Starving." Ahsoka replied enthusiastically, feeling much more comfortable around Anakin now. Though everything felt absolutely fine to Ahsoka, she could not shake the feeling that something was... off. Looking to her left and to the right of the HoloScreen, she could see a planet through the view port which, she guessed, was Dantooine. There was a fight between a few star fighters, like the ones in the book she'd read yesterday, and some TIE fighters that she knew more than enough about because of the empire. "What's going on out there?" She asked Anakin, nodding to the view port.

"A few rogues who aren't living up to the empires expectations." Anakin informed her lazily. "But they aren't nearly as big a problem to the empire as those who still believe in the republic, which the emperor took apart nine years ago." Ahsoka frowned, the republic? What in the universe was that? It was obviously what had been in charge of the galaxy before the empire was around, which mean that it had been a democracy and not a dictatorship like Barris had explained to her.

"If they aren't a big problem then why was Vader sent to deal with them?" Ahsoka asked curiously. "And he said something about 'rebel prisoners'. Are those the rogues he's talking about?"

"That's what he calls them." Anakin informed her. "But they have way more skill than rogues do, they're the people who still believe in the republic and democracy. Vader isn't exactly merciful when it comes to them, that's why he was sent here now. There's supposed to be a very important rebel leader on Dantooine according to his spies, one of the reasons we left Coruscant so quickly."

Ahsoka nodded. She wondered if she would ever be going back to the planet that the rest of the Jedi were imprisoned on, and doubted it very much. So far, Anakin had been very kind to her and taught her how to use the force, and let her practise for the first time with a training saber against a training droid like normal Jedi were supposed to do. If he was kind enough to do that, and kind enough to make her feel better after one of her nightmares, she knew that he would view her as a friend, like she viewed him, and there seemed like there was hardly any way that he would even let her near Coruscant given the chance, let alone the Jedi temple. Watching the fight in space, Ahsoka felt sorry for the people fighting against Vader, and even more sorry for the rebel prisoners that he was going to be taking. She could only imagine what he would do to those he captured and tortured, they would be in more pain than she had been.

A thought occurred to Ahsoka, which had not when she had been adjusting to her new home. Was she allowed to go around the ship? Originally Anakin had said that they would be staying in Vader's quarters, but now it seemed as though he had just said that because he did not want her to try and run off. Ahsoka was not going to be running off anymore, so maybe he would tell her if there were certain circumstances in which she could actually go to places outside of her confinement.

"Anakin," Ahsoka began. "is it ever possible to leave Vader's quarters?"

"Depends on where you want to go." Anakin replied. "I doubt he'd let you out on your own, so I'll most likely be there with you. I think you can go anywhere so long as you have an escort."

"So, a guard to make sure I don't run off?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Basically, yes." Anakin replied. "But I doubt there's anywhere you could run off to, it's not as if there's a way off of the ship if it's not on a planets surface."

Ahsoka, regretfully, nodded. There really was no way for her to get off of Vader's flagship, and the galaxy didn't even know she existed. Where would she go? Her parents? She didn't even know who they were, or if they were still alive. There was nowhere she could go to, but she wasn't having a problem with living with Anakin; Vader on the other hand was someone that she could do without. By now he had probably shot down most of the enemy fighters with his stormtroopers and was capturing the people that he needed to; the ships had disappeared from the view from the view port.

Ahsoka sat in silence for a moment, just staring at the planet and the stars that she could have seen had the empire not been formed. It was such a tragic thing that the Jedi had been imprisoned in their own temple, and Ahsoka wasn't about to be imprisoned in another. "Can I leave Vader's quarters now?" She asked. "You know, to look around the ship."

"Like a tour?" Anakin asked.

"What's a tour?" Ahsoka said in confusion.

Anakin chuckled. "It's where someone shows you around a place."

"Oh, okay." Ahsoka replied.

"So, would you like me to show you around?" Anakin asked. "I know how frustrating it can be when you don't know much about where you are."

"Yes, please." Ahsoka replied, happy that Anakin had, actually, been lying when he had told her they were not allowed to go anywhere outside of Vader's quarters. It must have been because he thought she would try and run off before realising that, if she did, Vader would catch her and she'd end up in the brig again since there was nowhere for her to go and no way of getting off of the ship since she could not even fly one herself. Ahsoka knew that it was a good thing that he had done that, but still thought that the idea of being confined inside the four walls of Vader's suite was a scary one to have on her first day with Anakin.

Ten minutes later, Anakin and Ahsoka were walking through the decks of the Exactor and Anakin was explaining what happened on each level. He had just gotten to talking about why people were kept in the brig, which was the lowest level of Vader's ship, instead of in places more accessible to people who wanted to let out their frustrations, like the Jedi were used for at the temple, when there was the sound of a door opening from ahead and Vader himself walked out from one of the cells, with drops of blood on his suit, and strolled past them; Ahsoka had the odd sensation that his eyes were on her as he went and, had she not been with Anakin, would have normally felt afraid of him.

Ahsoka could sense that someone was in distress from the cell that Vader had walked out of and her curiosity got the better of her when Anakin made no objections as she walked slowly towards the cell and, switching off the ray shield, walked inside. There were no stromtroopers inside or out, so no one tried to stop her, though she doubted Anakin would allow them to even touch her, and it was easy to walk inside and see what Vader had been doing. There was a woman on the floor, her face and body covered in blood, with black eyes and bruises all over her face which made Ahsoka think she was dead, until she made a sharp movement and coughed up some blood. Ahsoka immediatley felt sorry for her, no doubt she was one of the supporters of the republic that Vader had been sent to deal with and one of the leaders that he needed to capture. She looked worse than Ahsoka herself had in the Jedi temple, Vader must have been really angry and the woman couldn't have told the dark lord a thing if she was in such a bad state. The woman opened her eyes slowly, and it looked painful to do, and looked up at Ahsoka; Ahsoka could plainly see the pity in the woman's eyes, and it confused her. Why did this woman pity her? What did she know about her, Ahsoka was a stranger to everyone in the universe and no one but Anakin, Vader and the Jedi knew she existed. If anything, Ahsoka pitied this woman, who was now on the receiving end of Vader's punishment as Ahsoka herself had once been.

"And who are you?" The woman asked defiantly. "Another of Vader's puppets? You're a little young aren't you?"

Ahsoka frowned. Vader's puppet? What was she on about? Maybe this woman had taken one too many hits to the head. "I'm not one of Vader's puppets." Ahsoka stated. "I'm a Jedi, and my name is Ahsoka Tano."

The woman's eyes widened, making her wince from the pain, as she processed what Ahsoka had just said. Not that it was surprising to Ahsoka, every Jedi in the galaxy was imprisoned in the Jedi temple, no one had seen a Jedi for nine years. "A Jedi?" The woman asked in shock. "I would have thought you would be in your temple," She said, evening out her voice to its emotionless tone once more. "Vader likes to torture the Jedi."

"I know," Ahsoka replied. "he tortured me for nine years. I was going to die when I was saved and taken here, now I live in his quarters."

The woman had a look of disgust on her face. "His quarters? That's sick!"

Ahsoka frowned. "What is? I have my own room, and Anakin has taught me how to read and how to spell and how to fight. I don't see what's sick about that? Anakin's my friend." She informed the woman, who now looked extremely confused.

"Anakin?" She asked in her confusion.

"Anakin Skywalker." Ahsoka said. "Darth Vader's half brother, the chosen one?" The woman seemed to go into deep thought after hearing this. "You don't know about him? He's the one who saved my life."

The woman looked up at Ahsoka in surprise, which she always seemed to be whenever Ahsoka told her something new. "Darth Vader's brother saved your life?" She asked. "But... why? He's Vader's brother."

"Half brother." Ahsoka corrected. "And he saved me because he's the chosen one, the one who's destined to destroy the sith. He snuck into the Jedi temple to save me, Vader was going to kill me..."

"Where do you stay?" The woman asked. "When did you arrive here?"

"Five days ago," Ahsoka replied. "I stay in my own room, next to Anakin's... who are you?"

But the woman did not answer. She was now thinking about something that Ahsoka did not know, and Ahsoka wondered if any one who met a Jedi would react this way. She was only eleven, and this woman seemed to be planning something important. Ahsoka did not have a very good attention span and was finding standing in the cell with this woman very uncomfortable, so she made to leave, only to be stopped by the woman on the floor.

"Where are you going?" The woman demanded, her tone laced with concern.

"Um, well I guess Anakin's going to take me back to Vader's quarters so we can have some lunch," Ahsoka thought out loud. "I did skip breakfast today..."

"You talk about him as though he isnt Vader's brother." The woman said cautiously.

"He's only Vader's half brother, and they don't like each other." Ahsoka said. "Vader killed their mother when Anakin was a child because she wouldn't let him turn Anakin to the dark side. He isnt bad, if he was he wouldn't have saved me."

The woman did not seem convinced. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm a Jedi, I _can_ tell these things." Ahsoka pointed out, though she had yet to be able to read Anakin's mind. "Now, I really should be going. Anakin promised that we'd watch the second HoloVid of a trilogy today and I don't want to miss it because I have to go to bed." Ahsoka remembered. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." The woman replied.

Ahsoka was already out of the room when she realised that she had not even got the woman's name, but thought nothing of it. Vader would most likely kill her in a week if she did not tell him what he wanted to know, and Ahsoka had only gone in because she was curious. There were still no stormtroopers around to guard the cell that the woman was in, and when Ahsoka walked out she saw that Anakin was tampering with some wires in the wall when he noticed that she had emerged from the cell. He gave her a smile and put the wires back into the wall before turning to face her fully.

"Ready to go?" He asked her.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes. You _did_ promise to let me watch the next HoloVid about those gods." She reminded him.

Anakin chuckled. "I did, didn't I? Come on then, you forgot to eat breakfast today."

"That might have been intentional," Ahsoka commented quietly.


	18. Chapter 17

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 5**_

Ahsoka was a little confused about the woman in the prison cell, but then again, she _was_ a prisoner and most probably wanted to use everything she had to escape; Ahsoka would not be used as a tool for escape, of that she was certain. It wasn't that Ahsoka wouldn't help, it was just, she _couldn't_ help. Who would want an untrained, partially trained, Jedi youngling for assistance anyway? It was clear that she was more than a little distressed by that woman as she and Anakin were watching the next of the HoloVids, but he had given up asking her about it an hour ago, her only response was the silent treatment, which - thankfully - Anakin seemed to know well. The HoloVid was a few minutes away from ending and Ahsoka had already eaten the equivalent of lunch and dinner, thanks to Anakin, which meant she was far from hungry; Anakin insisted that she ate double the ordinary amount for meals because, if her top was pressed against her, you could still count how many ribs she had. Plus, it appeared that Ahsoka had been checked over by a medical droid whilst she was unconscious and now needed to have a vaccination, which she had just had, and medication, which tasted absolutley disgusting. On the bright side, she only had to take the medication for a week so she did not mind, at least not as much as she had when she first tasted it, that was for sure.

There was not much time left in the day and the Exactor was about to go into light speed to reach another destination that Ahsoka did not know, no doubt Vader would come in and tell them where they were headed at some point. Confused, as she was, Ahsoka paid little attention to the HoloVid as it ended and was thinking about why that woman had thought about Anakin the way she did when a voice roused her from her thoughts; Anakin's voice, to be specific.

"You hungry, Ahsoka?" Anakin asked, given that – after a glance at the chrono – it was just past seven. Ahsoka was about to tell him 'no' when her stomach grumbled loudly, causing her to roll her eyes. Anakin smirked. "I'll get you some dinner."

Ahsoka watched Anakin go and vaguely wondered what she would be having for dinner this time; she remembered eating something that resembled sticks in water, except the water was orange and thick, it tasted like tomatoes. What had Anakin called it? Spaghetti, that was it; the stuff that Ahsoka had taken one look at and immediately tried to give it back, Anakin insisted not to judge things by their appearances. Ahsoka still felt that she was right, it did taste like sticks in orange water and Anakin had then told her that the droid had made that meal, which she had guessed already since, from experience, she knew that Anakin was a far better chef than that. Ahsoka was already starting to like eating new foods that she had never even heard of before, the temple had been very... basic in the food department. As much as she missed her friends, and her life, Ahsoka had absolutely no intention of ever returning as a prisoner; in fact, she promised herself that she would never live in a place like that again.

A minute later, Anakin returned and handed Ahsoka her dinner before sitting down on the couch with his own and starting to eat. Taking a bite of her food, Ahsoka wondered what she would be doing every day; she couldn't very well keep watching HoloVids and such, there had to be something that Anakin did, he didn't look as though he'd spent his life on the couch. Though all of these things were still new to her, Ahsoka knew that she would become bored of them shortly; maybe she'd spend the rest of her life doing what she wanted? It certainly seemed that way, given what she'd done for the past five days.

Anakin was the first to start a conversation, and an interesting one at that. "So, Ahsoka, what did you used to do at the Jedi temple?" He asked; Ahsoka wondered what he meant, she had been imprisoned with her hands tied behind her, what was he on about? "I mean, Jedi training wise." He added. "What would you have to do on a daily basis? Minus what you can't do without a Jedi master present." Ahsoka thought about it; what were the usual things that a Jedi did? Well... there was meditation and sparring. Those were things that Jedi did every day, and practising using the force to be able to pass their Jedi trials, but there were no trials for Ahsoka to pass. Failing to remember any other things that Jedi were supposed to do, since she had only a small idea, Ahsoka settled for the two things that she knew for certain Jedi were supposed to do every day, that and excersise.

"Mediation and sparring." Ahsoka replied. "And a lot of exercise, but I'm not too keen on that."

Anakin nodded. "Can you run?" He asked her; Ahsoka gave him a puzzled look.

"Run?" She asked. "What's that?"

"Can you sprint? Do a handstand? Front flip? Back flip?"

Ahsoka grew more and more bewildered as he continued to speak. What was he on about this time? He was talking as though it was the most normal thing in the world and it was more confusing than when he explained what astromech droids could do; he had to of said a hundred things then that had confused her, but none sounded as strange as what he was saying now. She just gave him a puzzled look and he nodded slowly, thinking about something that Ahsoka was certain she would not like if it involved exercise. After a few seconds, he looked up at her and Ahsoka could swear there was a strange gleam in his eyes.

"All right then, lets go into the gymnasium and I'll show you what they are." He said; Ahsoka narrowed her eyes cautiously. He seemed to be enjoying this, which she found a little insulting given she had absolutely no clue what he was on about. Anakin stood up a little too eagerly for Ahsoka's liking, though she did not say anything, and went into the gymnasium with much more speed than when he was walking at a normal pace. Ahsoka slowly stood up and followed him; this side of Anakin seemed to point to the obvious factor of danger or something that was hard to do, whichever you enjoyed the most.

As Ahsoka walked into the room, she saw that Anakin was upside down with his hands on the floor and not leaning on anything for support. It was confusing beyond belief, what in the name of the galaxy was he doing?

He was standing... on his hands? Ahsoka thought about it. Hands, standing. Hands, stand. Handstand? Was that what he had been on about in the lounge?

Whatever he was doing it looked hard to do, and Ahsoka was loath to put all of her body weight on her arms; they were thinner than twigs and could snap just as easily, not that her body weighed a lot. How many ribs had she counted yesterday from curiosity? Oh yes, twelve.

Anakin then rolled forwards, in the air, and landed on his feet looking as though he was perfectly fine and had not just done that really strange thing. Arching an eyebrow, Ahsoka looked at Anakin like he had just done something which, in her opinion, was completely out of place. Was that why he seemed so laid back all the time? He hadn't so much as flinched at Vader, and had cut off his hand. Ahsoka doubted that anyone had caused such a blow to Vader before, or ever would again. Ahsoka really did not want to fall flat on her face because she could not do what Anakin had just done, _please don't make me do it..._ she pleaded silently, _please don't make me -_

_All right, I won't. _Anakin's voice replied in her head.

Ahsoka let out a startled cry when she heard it, she had forgotten all about the connection that was between them and had gone instinctively to the part of her mind that was strongly connected to Anakin's without realising it. Damn!

"Stop doing that." Ahsoka told Anakin.

"Doing what?" Anakin gave her an innocent look. "You were the one who came into my mind first."

"I can't control it yet," Ahsoka said. "It's not my fault."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough," He said. "if you don't want to do a handstand then what do you want to do? Running races?"

"I don't really know what I _can_ do," Ahsoka informed him. "I am a _lot_ thinner than most people, and not really very healthy..."

"Okay, no running, just jogging." Anakin compromised. "Then afterwards you can have something else to eat; you should be looking like you've got some weight, instead of weighing as much as a piece of paper."

Ahsoka looked at him. "Gee thanks." She said sarcastically. "That made my day."

Anakin chuckled. "Never mind," He said. "do you know what jogging is?"

Ahsoka shook her head 'no'.

Anakin nodded. "Okay, follow me and do what I do, but not exactly the same because you need to be able to jog and run in your own way, otherwise you'll probably hurt yourself." Ahsoka frowned, not fully understanding what Anakin was talking about, but watched as he began to walk around the room, and then sped up. His legs went faster and his knees rose higher; this must have been what was called 'jogging'. After a minute of watching and seeing how it was done, Anakin gestured for Ahsoka to join him. Ahsoka hesitated before joining him as he was jogging around the room; her legs felt as though they were going to give out at any moment after a minute, how thin were they?

Anakin stopped, noticing Ahsoka was struggling, and they both sat down in chairs whilst Ahsoka caught her breath. If that was just jogging, then what was running? Or sprinting for that matter? Now that she thought about it, Ahsoka guessed that running was something like jogging, and sprinting was the same thing. But a front flip? And a back flip? What were those? If any of the things Anakin had talked about were this hard to do, then Ahsoka wondered how long it would be before she died from extreme exhaustion because this was just something that she could not do. After Ahsoka could actually breathe instead of taking short, sharp gasps, Anakin turned to her.

"That's jogging." He informed her, though she already knew. "Running and sprinting are faster versions of it, do you want to try?"

Ahsoka shook her head frantically, causing Anakin to chuckle.

"All right then," He said. "I'll get you something to eat, lets go back into the lounge, it's a lot more comfortable in there."

Ahsoka couldn't say she disagreed with him, and followed Anakin back into the lounge where she almost collapsed onto the couch; she was completely exhausted, and jogging was supposed to be easy. This was one of those annoying times when not growing up in a normal place was really irritating, but then again, it was _always_ irritating. A quick look at the chrono showed that it was half past eight, and Ahsoka wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep and get her strength back; she hadn't believed she could become _so_ tired.

Heavy eyelids began to close when Anakin's voice brought her back to full consciousness, which wasn't necessarily a good thing, sleep was one of those few privileges that Ahsoka did not take for granted, and she wanted to get as much of it as possible. There was a nice smell in the air, which meant Anakin had cooked again, and a noise that showed Anakin was on his way back to the lounge. Ahsoka had not looked up, she hardly had the strength, and pushed herself to sit up straight with some difficulty.

There was a plate in front of her which had not been before and Ahsoka began to eat, completely unaware of her surroundings. She just felt so _tired_ and had no desire to stay awake for much longer. Once she had finished eating, her plate was whisked away from her by someone, probably Anakin, and Ahsoka went straight to her room, muttering a 'goodnight' to Anakin - who she assumed was still in the room.


	19. Chapter 18

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Year 1, Month 1, Day 6**_

Ahsoka could not remember a time when she had slept worse, except for yesterday perhaps. She woke up at all hours of the night until, finally, it was six o'clock and she just couldn't go back to sleep and, instead, pulled out her book of myths and legends and began to read; if Anakin wanted her to do any exercise today he was sadly mistaken. Thankfully, the lack of sleep had prevented Ahsoka from having any nightmares; she did manage to fall asleep for eight hours in total though, so that was an upside. She was starting to really enjoy the whole concept of myths and legends, especially the ones about pirates and ancient kings and queens. In fact, she had read five more legends now - none of them were myths - and enjoyed each one of them more than she wanted to say. Each one seemed to be about as interesting and impossible seeming as the next.

The first legend that she had read was about a darkness that was carried around in a box. It literally held the dark side of the force inside of it and the dark side could take on a human form, or any form for that matter, but its original form was just the silhouette of a man with glowing orbs inside of it. Ahsoka could only imagine how odd that must look. Apparently, this form of the dark side had appeared in the time of the old republic, whatever that was, and had a part in the creation of the sith empire. If had been contained inside of its box for years and was forced back inside by the entire Jedi order; no one else had the power that they did now, not even the Jedi order that was around at the moment, and they were imprisoned, so they would be no help if something like that really did happen.

The second legend was about a planet where there was no technology, and people fought with swords made of metal. This seemed really strange to Ahsoka, and the planet was ruled by people known as elves, humans (which she could have guessed), and dwarves. This story lasted twenty pages, and Ahsoka understood none of it, but that was why she enjoyed it so much. There was a lot of things about people going from one place to the other and a giant bird and... Ahsoka sighed, she could hardly remember it now; sleep deprivation had kicked in. She would re-read the third, fourth, and fifth legend another time, but right now she just needed something to do, it was now ten past eight and boredom was one of those tricky little emotions that Ahsoka found hard to deal with. Maybe there would be something to keep her busy for most of the day? Sitting around watching HoloVids and reading wasn't what she imagined was what most people did on a daily basis.

The noise of a door opening and closing nearby told Ahsoka that either Anakin or Vader had just left their room, but she could not sense a dark presence anywhere nearby, so it had to be Anakin. He was most likely going to get some breakfast, and Ahsoka was far too bored to stay in her room, reading about things when she was more than half asleep. Yawning, Ahsoka got out of bed and got dressed before placing her book back on the rapidly building pile beside her bed and walking out of her room. Anakin was just on his way to the kitchenette when he stopped and turned around to look at her, dark circles had formed under his eyes, indicating that he had not gotten much sleep either.

"Good morning," Anakin said with a sleepy smile. Ahsoka returned the smile and held in a yawn as she wondered why he looked as tired as she did, had he been kept awake by the fact that she couldn't sleep very well?

"Good morning," She replied. The lights in Vader's quarters were still slightly dimmer than what they usually were, and Ahsoka could sense that they were not alone, which meant that Vader was either asleep in his room or doing something related to the empire in another part of his quarters.

"Come into the kitchenette and I'll get you some breakfast." Anakin said before turning and walking into the kitchenette where he had been heading before. Ahsoka followed him as fast as she could, which was bordering on slow considering she was still very tired. Sitting down at the table, Ahsoka wondered what she would be doing today, if anything, and felt strangely lonely considering that she only had Anakin to talk to. There were no droids, as far as she knew, and no other people who Vader would let talk to her; Ahsoka had never really needed many friends, though, so she did not bother letting herself feel lonely when she shouldn't and didn't.

Anakin set her breakfast down in front of her and placed his own in the space where he would be sitting. Once Anakin had sat down, Ahsoka began to eat; her lack of sleep was preventing her from eating fast and she had the urge to just push the plate away and say she wasn't hungry, no doubt Anakin would have something to say about that. They were both halfway through their breakfast when booming footsteps announced Vader's arrival; Ahsoka shrunk back into her chair slightly as he walked in through the door.

"We will be arriving on the surface of Yavin 13 shortly," Vader announced. "I suggest you prepare yourselves for a trip to the surface." With that, he left. Leaving Ahsoka feeling very confused and startled, he was taking them down to the surface? Why? He could just leave them on the ship.

"Anakin," Ahsoka began, turning to look at him. "Why is Vader taking us down to the surface? Shouldn't we be staying on the ship?"

"The Exactor is going back to Coruscant to refuel soon," Anakin explained. "Vader won't leave us on our own on the ship for more than a week and it will take double that before he gets back on the Exactor. We'll be going down to the surface of Yavin 13 with him so we'd better hurry up and finish our breakfast. The surface of Yavin 13 can be perilous if you aren't in a stable place, no doubt he's looking for rogues again."

"Will we be in a stable place?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "No idea." He replied. "We should probably wear cloaks to hide our identity. There's a cloak in the back of your wardrobe by the way"

Ahsoka nodded and they both finished eating, with Anakin telling Ahsoka all about Yavin and its moons. She did like the idea of being on another planet, but there was one small problem for her. Ahsoka couldn't swim. If there was any water on Yavin 13 that she had to swim in, she would be doomed. Once they had finished eating, Ahsoka went into her room to see if there really was a cloak in her wardrobe and was not surprised to find that there was. Doing as Anakin instructed over breakfast, Ahsoka put on the cloak and was stood with Anakin, hood up, just outside of the door to Vader's quarters a minute later.

"Yavin 13 is a desert moon," Anakin explained to her. "There's no water, but there are plenty of myths and legends affiliated with it. You might enjoy learning about them, Vader is most likely going to try and take us to a place his master wants investigated."

Ahsoka thought about it. Myths and legends were very interesting, but Vader just seemed like the type to crush them with science or fact; Ahsoka decided that she liked things as they were with myths and legends, you can't tell whether or not they're true – unlike those people who disproved the Robin Hood legend.

"What kind of myths and legends?" Ahsoka asked curiously.

"They're all about curses from hundreds of thousands of years ago and cities that aren't supposed to exist and their old kings. It's actually quite interesting to learn about, so if learning how to read their old language. " Anakin informed. "Oh, by the way, there is one river that runs all the way along the moon that they created in old times, but I doubt we'll be swimming in it."

Ahsoka nodded. "Okay," She said.

The door in front of them opened to reveal Vader standing there, the usual aura of power crackled around him. He didn't so much as speak a word before turning around and walking down the corridor; Ahsoka frowned in confusion before Anakin began to walk out and she quickly followed him, confused as to how he knew to leave when Vader hadn't said anything. The whole situation seemed pretty unrealistic to Ahsoka, but this must have been what it was like in real life and thought that temple life had seemed so simple, and painful, whilst reality was something entirely different.

"Where are we going?" Ahsoka asked Anakin quietly.

"To the surface," Anakin replied. "Down the landing ramp, to be more specific."

Ahsoka nodded. "What are we going to be doing?"

"No idea." Anakin replied, turning to look ahead at Vader. "Vader, what exactly are we going to be doing on Yavin 13? I doubt there would be anyone stupid enough to hide there that the emperor wants dead."

Ahsoka was surprised that Vader did not turn around and hit Anakin, considering his tone when addresing the dark lord. "The emperor has heard rumours that the mythical city of Amukara had been found. Within it's walls is supposed to be the key to unlimited power, and it can only be opened by a powerful force user."

"So that's why he sent you?"

"Yes, it is." Vader replied emotionlessly. "We are going to be in the city of Haire to meet with the person who has agreed to lead us there."

"And what will we be doing?"

"Whatever you want." Vader said. "Just try to stay out of trouble this time."

"How many people are going to Amukara, anyway?"

"Us, my client, and a group of natives from Dantooine and their diggers."

"Oh, joy." Anakin said sarcastically.

"You had better find something to entertain yourselves," Vader said. "I don't want you trying to take what the emperor is after again."

"I didn't try, I _did_. Remember?"

Vader remained silent as they continued to walk. Curious, Ahsoka wondered what they were looking for inside of Amukara and if it really was the key to unlimited power. What she had been told about Yavin 13 so far told her that it was a place filled with myth and history, which Ahsoka had no problem with. What she did had a problem with was Vader and the emperor gaining unlimited power, maybe Anakin would go in and steal it right out from under them like he had, apparently, done before.

The stormtroopers they passed in the corridors saluted Vader before continuing about their daily business without so much as a glance at Ahsoka. She liked the fact that they paid her no attention, they couldn't hurt her this way. They walked through two more corridors before they came to a ramp, which Ahsoka guessed was the landing ramp, and went down it. There was a strange looking man standing at the bottom, with the stormtroopers, who was scrawny and looked as though he was the type who would decieve. He wore thin clothes, since Yavin 13 was very hot, and had a hat on his head. Ahsoka made a silent vow never to trust this man.

"Ah, Uncle Dee!" The man said, making Ahsoka arch an eyebrow. "How was yeh journey?"

"We are supposed to be getting down to business, Jixter." Vader said menacingly.

"Right, right," Jixter corrected himself. "Well, come on. The boat doesn't leave for a few hours, so I have a few errands to run."

"Like wise." Anakin commented, turning to Ahsoka. "Come on, Ahsoka."

Anakin pushed past Vader and Jixter, with Ahsoka close behind him, and walked towards Amukara, that was right next to them. There was sand everywhere, which Ahsoka found interesting, and strange writing underneath the names of shops that looked more like tiny pictures of things. People were walking about with either very little clothing, or very thin clothing to keep them cool.

Ahsoka was so busy looking around that she did not notice when Anakin disappeared from in front of her. Confused, Ahsoka looked around for him, but found he was nowhere in sight. She could not sense him with the force because she barely knew how. Panicing, Ahsoka spotted something called a museum that had the word library above it, which she knew held books, and decided not to get upset because Anakin would come and find her.

Walking towards the museum, Ahsoka opened the door carefully to reveal that there were stacks and stacks of books around everywhere. Ahsoka found she liked this very much. There was a woman sorting the books onto shelves, she wore glasses as she read the names from the books and stacked them where necessary. Deciding to ask the woman for help, Ahsoka walked towards her cautiously, wondering if she would try and hurt her because she was a Jedi.

"E-Excuse me?" Ahsoka said politely.

The woman turned to face her, obviously not having noticed her before, and smiled in a friendly way. Ahsoka smiled back. The woman had light brown hair, brown eyes and wore a dress. She looked very pretty, not to mention nice. "Hello there," She said. "Do you need help with something?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes," She replied. "I-I've gotten lost."

The woman smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, you'll be all right." She said reassuringly. "What's your name?"

"Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka replied.

"I'm Avalon Seri." The woman replied.

"Nice to meet you," Ahsoka said.

"Nice to meet you too," Avalon said, still smiling. "Have a seat and I'll be with you in a moment, I just have to finish stacking these books."

Ahsoka nodded and sat down at the table in the middle of the room, trying her best not to worry. Avalon was saying the names of the books she was stacking and Ahsoka found that each name was rather interesting, since the words were written in that strange picture language, Ahsoka did not know how Avalon could read it at all. She must have learned how from years of living on Yavin 13. There was a moment when Avalon paused after reading the name of something.

"Oh, this shouldn't be here." She said. "V... where's v...?" Avalon looked around for the correct bookcase. "Ah!" She went, having found the bookcase directly behind her. She placed the books she was trying to sort on top of the shelf she was already at and tried to lean across to put the book where it belonged. There was a moment where she almost had it, and then the ladder she was on leant backwards with her. Avalon yelped as it went back and she struggled to keep it upright.

"Are you okay?" Ahsoka asked, finding the situation ridiculous.

Before Avalon could answer, the ladder went forwards again and knocked into the bookshelf, causing it to fall forwards and to hit another one. This process continued until all of the bookshelves in the room had been knocked over. Books were everywhere and Avalon had disappeared from view.

Growing nervous, Ahsoka stood up and looked around for her. She could hear someone from underneath a bookshelf and Ahsoka quickly grasped the top of it and used the force to help her lift it up and off of Avalon, who looked utterly flabergasted.

"Are you okay?" Ahsoka repeated her earlier question.

Avalon nodded. "Fine," She replied. After taking a look around the room slowly, Avalon carefully stood up. "Oops." She said gently set the bookshelf back where it had been before and walked to the middle of the room, beside Avalon.

"I'm sure we can fix it before someone comes in." Ahsoka said half-heartedly, giving Avalon a small smile.

There was the unmistakeable sound of footsteps and a man walked into the room from another part of the building and looked around in shock. He spluttered a few times before his eyes rested on Avalon, completely ignoring Ahsoka's presence.

"You!" He said, walking towards them but not coming too close. "I'd beg for plagues, misfortune, snakes! Anything but you." He said; Ahsoka felt that this was completely uncalled for, it was an accident after all.

"I am sorry, Mr Falda." Avalon apologised. Ahsoka opened her mouth to tell her boss that it was an accident but he spoke first.

"Why? Why do I let you work here? I can scarcely remember, remind me." He said rhetorically.

"Well, you let me work here because I can read and write in the ancient language of Yavin 13, and I can date artifacts by looking at them and, well, I am the only person within a parsec that can properly catalogue this library. That's why." Avalon said, making Ahsoka smile under her hood.

"I let you work here because your mother and grandmother were our finest donaters." He corrected her. "I don't care how long it takes, straighten out this library!" With that, he walked off. Avalon looked really uneasy and Ahsoka felt sorry for her, that man was just blaming her because she worked here. True, she did make the bookshelves call over, but it was an accident.

Ahsoka pulled down her hood once the mans footsteps could not be heard. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Avalon said, turning to look at her. "Force, you're nothing but skin and bones!" She said, noticing how thin Ahsoka was. "Come on, I'll get you something to eat."

Ahsoka was about to tell Avalon that she wasn't hungry, but she simply took Ahsoka by the hand gently and led her through the ruins of books and into another room that was lit by fires. There was hardly any light in the room and a coffin in the center; there were statues around the room with that strange picture writing on them and a few artifacts behind glass that looked really interesting.

"Woah," Was all that Ahsoka could say, looking around at everything and smiling.

There was an odd sound from the coffin in the middle of the room and Avalon frowned, moving towards it. Ahsoka moved towards it too, noting for the first time just how _old_ it was. There was a small gust of wind that made the fire flicker and Ahsoka could remember being this scared when Vader had walked into the room for the first time since her arrival on the Exactor.

A skeleton from inside the coffin jumped up and made both Ahsoka and Avalon scream. It looked awful, and really scary. Ahsoka had to reign in her breathing so that she could maintain the energy to stand up right. Someone laughed from inside and Ahsoka was half expecting to see Anakin, but it was just a man dressed in pale clothes with hair and eyes just like Avalon had.

Avalon did not look happy.

"Edward, you scared the life out of us!" Avalon scolded; the man was obviously confused.

"Us?" He asked. "Who -?" He caught sight of Ahsoka standing there, struggling to remain upright. "Dear force, your nothing but skin and bones." He commented. Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Do you have any respect for the dead? It's bad enough that you don't have any for the living." Avalon said. "Now get out, come on."

Edward got out of the coffin slowly, stumbling and he got out and then sat down on the podium that one of the statues was stood on. "Now, now, Avalon, I may be your brother but may I remind you that _I_ am older. I have something for you, something you will like." He pulled out this strange, dusty, data pad like thing. It looked really, really old and Avalon seemed to be interested in it. Ahsoka reasoned that it had to be something from around the time that all of the artifacts in this room were made since it had that strange picture writing on it.

"This is, very interesting." Avalon commented, taking the thing from her brothers hand.

There was a scuffling sound from behind the door that Ahsoka and Avalon had walked through, and Anakin came in looking really worried. He took one look at Ahsoka and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Oh I see," He said. "Ran off to read some books, huh?"

"I got lost." Ahsoka said simply.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Avalon looked up at Anakin, regarding him warily. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Ahsoka's friend," Anakin replied. "Anakin Skywalker. We live together."

"Well, maybe you could explain why she is nothing but skin and bones?"

"It would be quicker to just say thin," Ahsoka muttered quietly.

"Ahsoka is a Jedi." Anakin explained, both Avalon and Edward looked up in surprise. "I rescued her from the temple, but we are under the watch of Darth Vader and going to Amukara. We live in his quarters since I am his half brother."

"I never knew the old tin can had a brother," Edward commented.

"_Half_ brother," Anakin corrected.

"Did you say you were going to Amukara?" Avalon asked; Ahsoka got the impression that she liked history.

"Yes." Anakin replied.

"We have a friend who's actually been there," Edward said. "He says he won't go back because of that bloody ultimate power thing."

"That's what Vader's after," Ahsoka remembered, looking up at Anakin. "Isn't it?"

"For the emperor, he is." Anakin said. "And don't talk like that around Ahsoka, she's only eleven." Anakin warned Edward. "Who are you anyway?"

"Edward Seri." Edward replied. "And this is my sister -"

"Avalon Seri." Avalon spoke for herself.

"Why won't your friend go back?" Ashoka asked. "Did something happen?"

"Something attacked him, strange things." Edward said.

"I don't believe it for one second," Avalon said. "Your friend just needs to stop drinking."

"Do you think he would mind coming with us on the boat?" Anakin asked.

"You could come too," Ahsoka said. "You said that you can read and write in the ancient Yavin language, which I'm guessing is those picture things."

"Hieroglyphics." Avalon said.

"Well, I suppose that we could join you at -" Edward began in his drunken voice.

"We'd be delighted to come." Avalon cut across him.

"Where's your friend?" Anakin asked.

"He is my brother friend, and he lives a few blocks away." Avalon informed. "His name is Larrs. Owen Larrs."


	20. Chapter 19

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 19**

**Year 1, Month 1, Day 6**

Anakin tensed immediatley as the name was mentioned, causing Ahsoka to suspect that something was wrong. Had he met Owen Larrs before? If so, why did he appear to be unhappy with him? Something must have happened and Ahsoka intended to find out what it was.

"What's wrong, Anakin?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin stiffly turned his head to look at her, his jaw clenched tightly as he spoke. "Owen Larrs is Darth Vader's brother." He informed her; Ahsoka frowned in confusion, but he did not let her ask him anything. "They share the same father, and mother. _My_ mother, who his father took by force."

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "He what?"

"That's how Vader was born too," Anakin said stiffly. "The only good thing that Vader did was kill that hutt scum and burn him on Mustafar."

"So... what do you think of Owen Larrs?" Ahsoka asked. "I mean, is he your family?"

"No." Anakin said. "He will never be viewed as my family; he is just my half brother, like Vader. Honestly, I care less about him than I do about Vader."

"What did he do?" Ahsoka questioned, knowing that something must have happened to make Anakin dislike Owen Larrs this much.

"He was never around." Anakin said simply. "Vader offered to allow him to come on the Exactor after our mother died, but he said no. He said no because he knew that Vader had killed his father and our mother and he didn't say anything to me. Even before our mother died, he could have said something and warned me, but he didn't. He saved his own skin, the drunk, and left me as Vader's prisoner. I never want to see him, ever."

"Well, if we want to stop Vader from getting ultimate power, then your going to have to let him help." Ahsoka said. "Maybe you can try to like him, just this once?"

"I doubt it." Anakin said, looking back at Edward. "Larrs -"

"Can come." Ahsoka cut across Anakin, who turned to look at her. "The boat leaves in a few hours, we should go and get him." Ahsoka advised.

Edward stood up and made to leave, with Avalon at his side, and Anakin turned to Ahsoka, his eyes blazing with anger. "I. Do. Not. Want. To. See. Him." He ground out.

"If you want to stop the emperor, then he has to come." Ahsoka reasoned. "Besides, maybe Vader will kill him after we're at Amukara?"

Anakin frowned as he thought about it for a few moments, his expression then turned neutral. "There's an idea..." He mumbled, his mind obviously somewhere else. "Fine." He conceeded, walking through the door with Ahsoka, following Avalon and Edward. "There's no way he'll agree to come with us." Anakin told Ahsoka. "He ran away from something that attacked him and won't go back, least of all with me and Vader."

"When was the last time you saw or heard from him?" Ahsoka asked.

"Four years ago, but -"

"Then you can't really say anything until we know what he's really like." Ahsoka countered. "Let's just wait and see, okay? Then you two can bicker like an old married couple."

Anakin glared at her before turning to look ahead of them as they walked and not saying a word. It was reasonable to assume that he was thinking about how much he hated his half brothers, Ahsoka wondered when he would let go of his grudge, but if it had lasted for four years then it was probably going to take a while to get them both in the goods with one another.

Avalon and Edward led them down a dusty street until they reached a house that had the sound of blaster fire coming from inside it. Raising an eyebrow, Ahsoka turned to Anakin who did not look at all surprised. "We're in the right place." He grumbled unhappily, if this was how Owen Larrs acted then Ahsoka was unsure of whether or not she would like him. It seemed that both of Anakin's half brothers were idiots.

* * *

An explosion shook the base on Hoth, effectively ending Ahsoka's story as Anakin had tried to, many times. Icicles and frost fell down from the ceiling, crates were overturned and landed on the floor with a loud _thud!_ whilst the ship that Anakin was sat on gave a terrible lurching noise, causing him to jump off of it as it shook just as much as everything else was. Anakin landed next to Ahsoka and almost lost his footing when the base shook again; a particularly large icicle landed close to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka looked up instinctively to check that there were no more above them.

_Sith!_ Anakin's voice shouted in her mind, causing Ahsoka to fix him with a glare for swearing. _Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed the base is shaking like crazy._

Just as suddenly as the shaking had started, it stopped. Ahsoka almost crashed into Anakin, who quickly caught her before she could cause herself any damage, and Obi-Wan grabbed the ship to steady himself. A loud cracking noise could be heard overhead and Ahsoka looked up quickly; there was a very, very large crack in the ceiling, and it was growing. Gulping, Ahsoka turned to Anakin.

"Um, Anakin?" She began. "You might want to look at the ceiling for a second."

Anakin's head snapped up, as did Obi-Wan's, and they did not seem to like the looks of the crack at all because the next second Ahsoka was being towed out of the room by Anakin as the ran deeper into the base; the sound of a loud _crash!_ told Ahsoka that the entire ceiling had just collapsed behind them. The entrance that they had ran through, though Anakin had practically thrown Ahsoka, was now blocked and there was no way back. Ahsoka could sense that a lot of people had just started to panic and Senator Organa and a few rebels were on their way and in the corridor beside them. Ahsoka also noticed that Mon Mothma was with them.

"Your pesky little friend is on the way," Ahsoka said to Anakin.

"What did she say?!" A voice shouted from down the corridor.

"Boy, she's got ears like a bat." Anakin commented; Ahsoka grinned but kept her face neutral once Mon Mothma, Senator Organa and the rebels with them appeared. Anakin did not look the slightest bit pleased at seeing Mon Mothma, in fact, he looked as though he would implode because he looked so annoyed. The only other time Ahsoka had seen him like this was when he had seen his half brother Owen Larrs for the first time in four years, which she was about to tell Obi-Wan about, but Anakin hated talking about him. Not because he had abandoned him, but because - after the adventure on Yavin 13 - Owen had been shot by a bounty hunter who was after Ahsoka and Anakin had held him in his arms as he died. Vader had almost lost another limb because of how angry Anakin had been.

"Senator Organa, what's going on?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Vader is here." Organa said, making Ahsoka raised both eyebrows in surprise. Vader had found them already? There was no way in the galaxy that was possible, unless hers and Anakin's force signatures were strong enough for Sidious to sense... or Obi-Wan's ship had been tracked.

"What? How did he get here so soon?" Anakin asked; Ahsoka was secretly pleased that he always asked the questions she wanted to ask. That was the thing with her and Anakin, when one had a question the other would ask it, or answer it, however you wanted to look at the situation.

"We don't know." Mon Mothma said, eyeing them all. "Someone must have told him where we were."

"Considering your attitude here, you can stop with the eyeing." Anakin retorted in annoyance. "I have lost way too much to give us away, and so have Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, so you can cut with the staring before you have something to stare about."

"Okay," Ahsoka said, stopping Anakin before he could say something he'd regret. "How about you go and lead your troops whilst we help them out as they fight Vader, and I stop Anakin from blowing a gasket." She added, an implied threat to Anakin, who went silent at once.

"A wise idea," Organa said, stopping Mon Mothma from doing anything foolish. "We will evacuate the base as soon as possible, until then keep Vader's forces delayed for as long as possible."

"I doubt they could buy us much time," Mothma muttered.

_That frustrating, snooty little -_

_Shut up!_ Ahsoka cut across Anakin in her head. _Shut up, right now!_

_All right, all right!_ Anakin apologised.

"Do your best." Organa said.

"If that's at all possible." Mothma mumbled.

Anakin made to go for her but Ahsoka's elbow caught his ribs and as Mothma walked away with Senator Organa, leaving the rebels behind, she glanced up at Anakin.

_Are you crazy? _She silently asked him.

_Nope._ Anakin replied._ But that woman needs a serious ass kicking._

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. _Men..._

"Watch it, Snips." Anakin told her outloud. "No sexism."

"Coming from you?" Ahsoka said with an outraged look on her face.

"What are you two on about?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Tell you later," Anakin said. "We need to set up a line of defence if we want to keep this base defended."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I'll hold you to that promise," He informed. "Let's get outside and see what the situation is like."

It took a few minutes for the rebels to lead them to another exit, and things outside looked grim. There were three AT-AT's coming towards them, but the only one that was even close to them was still quite a long way away. The ground forces, stormtroopers, were nearing and the rebels already fighting had noone to lead them and where just shooting where they could. They all ducked and looked at Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-Wan for help when they caught sight of them, which was a pretty smart move considering that was what they were there to do.

Ahsoka had absolutley no clue what to do, and Obi-Wan was out of experience judging from the glance they shared, but Anakin obviously had a lot of experience with these situations. Either that or he was just really smart, Anakin's knowledge of AT-AT's was rivalled only by Ahsoka's and it was no wonder when he started telling the rebels where to shoot.

"Shoot for the air purification devices on the stormtroopers helmets," Anakin ordered them. "When the AT-AT's get here make sure to go for their legs, that's their weakest point."

The rebels seemed relieved that they had orders and began doing exactly as Anakin said. A blaster bolt from a lucky stormtrooper almost hit Ahsoka, but she brought her lightsaber up to block it before it could cause any damage and Anakin and Obi-Wan activated theirs a second afterwards. It was obvious how little practise Obi-Wan had been getting because he was only just deflecting some of the blaster bolts that came his way whilst Anakin and Ahsoka stood just to the right of the rebels, slightly in front of them, deflecting three bolts at a time with each stroke of their lightsaber.

The stormtroopers where not advancing very quickly, but the AT-AT's were. They had covered a lot of ground in a minute and no rebel fighters had been launched yet, so there was nothing stopping their advance, yet. Ahsoka picked up on the subject just before Anakin did and made quick work of five stormtroopers before speaking.

"Where are the rebel ships?" Ahsoka asked over the sound of blaster fire. "They should be attacking the AT-AT's!"

Anakin blocked a bolt as it made to hit him in the chest. "I dont know!" He called back, turning to look at the closest rebel commander. "Commander! Where are your ships?"

"They should be here by now!" The commander called back. "I'll contact central command!"

Ahsoka guessed that must be the rebel commanders who were still inside of the base and was met with a ripel of anger through the force. It was coming from the other end of the battlefield, and the other end of the rebels comlink. Either way, it was enough to cause Ahsoka to worry since Vader was most likely at the other end of the battlefield and Mon Mothma was most likely stirring up trouble in the command center.

_That didn't feel good._ Anakin commented through their mind link.

_You can say that again._ Ahsoka replied. _What are we going to do if there's no air support?_

_We'll improvise, just like we used to._

_The first time didn't go so well..._

_Let's not bring that up. _Anakin said, withdrawing from the conversation.

Ahsoka knew that the reason he didn't want to talk about it was because just after they had improvised for the first time, Owen had been killed. The bounty hunter that had tried to shoot Ahsoka had appeared out of nowhere, in madalorian armour, and Owen had shoved her out of the way to take the bullet. Ahsoka had only ever seen Anakin cry once, as he held Owen when he died, and Vader had not so much as lifted a finger to help. He had just turned and walked away, which had not only made Anakin angry, but Ahsoka had felt his hatred even with her untrained force senses. The emperor had felt it too, he had even tried recruiting Anakin but was met when Anakin shut off the hologram and threw it out of the view port window.

"Sir!" The rebel called to Anakin. "Mon Mothma has told them not to help us!"

"What?!" Anakin and Ahsoka shouted.

"She want's you to prove yourselves!"

_Kriffing pig of a woman..._ Anakin silently swore through their connection. "Contact Senator Organa or Senator Amidala! Tell them what's happening and what Mothma is doing!" He ordered.

_I am going to send that woman to hell._ Anakin vowed.

_Not if you end up there first,_ Ahsoka replied._ Focus, master!_

_I told you that -_

_Shush! End of conversation!_

Anakin chuckled, which the rebels found confusing, at Ahsoka's remark and continued to deflect blaster bolts back at the stormtroopers. The lack of practise in the galaxy was almost unnerving since noone seemed to be able to fight against Jedi and the Jedi seemed to have lost much of their skill. Only Anakin and Ahsoka outranked everyone around them in skill and in brains because of five years of just practising and having their own little adventures.

"Sir!" The rebel commander called out again. "Air support is on the way! They don't sound very pleased about what Senator Mothma has done!"

"First off, thank's for the heads up, second off, refer to her as Mothma!" Anakin called back. "I doubt her rank as senator still remains intact!"

"I doubt that's true!" Ahsoka called out. "You just don't like her!"

"Will you two stop having a conversation on the battlefield and focus!" Obi-Wan told them.

The rebels snickered in amusment and Ahsoka could not help but smile. The sound of engines overhead told Ahsoka that the rebel ships had arrived, though she knew long before that they were close thanks to the force, and they began slowing down the AT-AT's and dive bombing the remaining ground forces of the empire. Ahsoka knew that Vader should have joined the battle by now, but he hadn't. Why? He had to be up to something.

_Where's Vader? _Ahsoka asked Anakin. _He should have joined the battle by now, I think he's up to something._

_You know, I think you might be right. _Anakin agreed.

_I'm sorry, what was that?_

_Don't push it, Snips._

Things were going well, a little too well, and Ahsoka was hardly surprised when sirens sounded from behind them that announced that imperial troops had entered the base with Vader alongside them. There was no way that they could win this fight when they were being attacked from both sides and it was amazing that noone else seemed to have noticed it yet. Growing weary, Ahsoka decided that they had better get off of the planet before they were wiped out.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka cautioned. "We're going to be attacked from both sides! We should get off of the planet before anyone else dies!"

"Where can we go?!" He called back to her.

"Coruscant!"

"What?! Are you insane?!"

"Trust me!" Ahsoka said. "We have to get out of here!"

Anakin was silent as he thought it over in his head. Ahsoka desperatley hoped that he would see sense and tell the rebels to run for their ships and get off of Hoth, if anyone could come up with a safe rendevous point, it was Anakin. Things were going seemingly okay, but it wouldn't stay that way for long if Vader came out from behind them and started cutting off the heads of every rebel he could see.

"I trust you." He said; it was their way of telling one another that it was okay to go through with the plan in their heads. "Everyone fall back!" He ordered to much surprise. "Get to your ships and get off the planet! We'll cover your escape! Rendevous coordinates will be sent to you!"

"Sir! We're winning!" The rebel commander protested.

"They're coming in from behind us, now go!" Anakin ordered. They didn't question him again and began running across the icy plains of Hoth to get to their ships and take off. Ahsoka wondered how they themselves were going to get off of the planet unscathed, but then again, they were making this up as they went along.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called. "How are we going to get off of Hoth if they're firing at us?!"

"I have a very well thought out plan!" Anakin shouted.

"Run?!" Ahsoka asked.

"Run!" Anakin agreed as they deflected the last of the blaster bolts, turned on their heels and bolted in the directions that the rebels were running in. The stormtroopers were still too far away to catch them and the AT-AT's had their own problems, so it was only the blaster bolts soaring past their heads that they had to worry about. Obi-Wan seemed confused about the option of running, but did not object. Ahsoka knew that they would have to explain it to him later on that they both had a little back up plan for all of their troubles.

'When in doubt, run away.'

It was a simple plan, but it worked really well whenever they needed it to. Surprisingly, not a single blaster bolt even came close to hitting them as they sprinted towards where the rebels were now taking off. There were three ships left, just for them, and with any luck they would be off of the cold planet without a single injury.

Ahsoka thought that they were going to make it when Obi-Wan's breathing became hard and eratic, like he was tired. _Really_ tired. Glancing to her right, Ahsoka could see that the old Jedi master was obviously not what he used to be because he really was tired, he needed to rest. Ahsoka cursed silently.

_Anakin! Obi-Wan's tired, we need to get him to the ship!_

_Just a little further, it'll be all right Ahsoka. Just a few more seconds._

Obi-Wan looked more tired than Ahsoka had ever seen him and when they reached their ships he was barely able to climb into the cockpit. It was only when they were in space and the shooting of the stormtroopers blasters had stopped and the other rebel ships where close by. They had shot past the two star destroyers easily and, once safely out of their way, Anakin got into contact with the other rebels.

"Commander, you boys get out all right?" He asked.

_"We got out fine, sir." _The commander replied. _"Where do we go now?"_

"Haven't you heard from the rebel leaders?" Anakin asked in concern.

_"Last we heard, Mothma was taking them to a planet she didn't name and would send us orders once they were healed."_

_Stupid witch._ Anakin said to Ahsoka through their connection.

"Set your courses for Polis Massa. We can treat your wounds there and then..." Anakin sucked in a sharp breath.

_"Sir?"_

"Prepare yourselves, boys." Anakin said. "We're going to Coruscant."


	21. Chapter 20

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 20**

Polis Massa was an over sized asteroid, or at least that was what it seemed like to Ahsoka. But, apart from that fact, it was a medical facility. There was supposed to be no finer in the galaxy, though Ahsoka suspected that before the empire had destroyed them there had been. Everything was surrounded by the vastness of space and its stars, the insides and medical facility were protected by a ray shield that allowed ships to pass through, but there were certain areas where death was a certainty if you went to them unprotected. There was more than enough room for the rebels that needed treatment and enough extra space for others to rest.

The moment they arrived, they were greated by the doctors that lived there and - since they wanted the empires rule to end - allowed the rebels to stay. Obi-Wan had been given a diagnosis of his health from a medical droid and they said that he needed rest and was even hooked up to a nutrient drip because he was in such bad shape. Nervous, Ahsoka had point blank refused to be hooked up to a nutrient drip if her diagnosis was bad and had not even had one until Anakin had been given his - which said he was perfectly healthy, surprise, surprise - and had sat in the room with Ahsoka whilst the medical droid did its thing.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Ahsoka." Anakin assured her. "Why are you nervous? You were healthy on board the Exactor and I'm sure your just as healthy now."

Ahsoka could only nod in response. She was scared to death of medical facilities. All those medical droids with their needles and injections and... it was just far too much for her to handle. Everyone had a weakness, and Ahsoka's was anything to do with needles, injections, amputations and blood was something that she preffered to steer clear of.

The medical droid came back into the room with a datapad in its needle like hands and Ahsoka was suddenly afraid to pick it up incase a needle impaled her from the other side. Another one of the fatal flaws Ahsoka had, still being a child she had very vivid imagination and this was one of the bad sides of it. Seeing that Ahsoka was not going to take the datapd - which the droid had just held out for her - Anakin took it and began looking at it.

"You are healthy," The medical droid said. "But there is one small problem."

Ahsoka tensed. "What problem?"

"You have low calcium levels," Anakin filled in for her. "There are also problems with your temperature too. It comes from being cold from a very young age, like at the temple." Anakin smiled at Ahsoka. "At least that explains why you hate the cold." He said whole heartedly, making Ahsoka feel a little better.

"There is more." The medical droid said.

Ahsoka looked to Anakin for an explanation. "Over active brain waves," Anakin recited from what was on the data pad. "Low nutrition levels, not as low as Obi-Wan's so you won't need a nutrient drip, exhaustion - I had that too - dizzy spells, temporary loss of vision and..." Anakin paused for a moment.

"I don't have dizzy spells," Ahsoka said. "And I've never lost my vision -"

"You could faint at any time and at any moment if you over exert yourself." Anakin said, looking up at Ahsoka. "That's what all of this means."

"When will it, you know, wear off?"

"You will need to spend a few days asleep," Anakin said. "Have double the amount of nutrients you need and constant medical supervision." Anakin looked up at Ahsoka. "This kind of thing will take time that we may not have," He turned back to the medical droid. "Could you put her in stasis for two days? Then at least it will have healed slightly."

"What?" Ahsoka protested. "No! I want to help!"

"It's only healing injured rebels, Ahsoka." Anakin said. "I'll be right next to you for most of the time."

"I don't want to be asleep whilst I could be helping." Ahsoka said.

"I promise I will wake you if there is any trouble," Anakin assured her. "You never know, after you wake up you might feel a lot better."

"Shouldn't I have had this done on the Exactor?" Ahsoka asked. "Or a few years ago?"

Anakin shook his head. "This condition must have developed from the sudden change of climate. Going from warmth to slightly cold to freezing isnt very good for you." He turned back to the droid. "Put her in stasis straight away."

"What!"

"Of course sir." The medical droid obeyed.

"I don't want to go to -" Ahsoka cut herself off when she saw the medical droids needle. "That's it, I'm not going into stasis. No way."

"Ahsoka it's fine. I have you." Anakin said reassuringly.

Ahsoka shook her head frantically. "No. Not happening. Needles are not the way for me. Not happening. Ever." Ahsoka stated.

"Ahsoka -"

"I can't, Anakin." Ahsoka said with pleading eyes. "Needles... I can't..."

Anakin sighed and put his arms around Ahsoka, making her feel much more safe and happy. He held Ahsoka close to his chest for a minute before, without her noticing, nodded his head to the medical droid who injected her. She hardly felt it, only felt that she was drifting off to sleep and could hardly fight a thing that was happening. Quickly, the darkness took over and Ahsoka drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Anakin placed her down on the bed gently, looking up at the medical droid when he stood back up with the datapad still in his hands.

"Make sure that she is all right and do not bring her out of stasis until I say so or unless there is trouble." Anakin ordered it sternly. "I'll be helping out Master Kenobi, contact me if there is the slightest problem or change in her condition."

With one last glance at Ahsoka, lieing peacefully on the bed, Anakin left the room to go and find Obi-Wan. He always did hate leaving Ahsoka out of the action, but she was safer that way. This time, there was no action to be left out of. It really was just getting everyone healed and ready for when they were going to Coruscant, if any rebel leaders did make contact then they would have to wait. He was already risking more than enough lives on his own, without adding theirs to it. Anakin was just trusting that the force would keep them alive this time, there was nothing else to help them.

The corridors were filled with rebels walking from place to place to either recover or help out their friends. Obi-Wan was in the room on the far right hand side, resting. He had been in a terrible condition, according to the medical droid, and had gone to sleep for the first two hours that they had been on Polis Massa, whilst waking up afterwards to have something to eat. Anakin palmed open the door to see that Obi-Wan was sat on his bed in a white dressing gown, reading something on a datapad. He looked up and smiled at Anakin as he walked in.

"Hello," Anakin said. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." Obi-Wan replied. "Coming to Polis Massa was an excellent idea."

Anakin smiled. "Glad you think so," He commented.

"Where's Ahsoka?"

"She's going to be in stasis for two days."

Obi-Wan's expression changed to one of concern. "Why? What happened?"

"See for yourself." Anakin said, holding out the datapad with the medical droids diagnosis for Obi-Wan to read. With each passing second the Jedi master looked more and more concerned.

"This will take time to sort out," Obi-Wan said finally, handing Anakin the datapad back. "Time we may not have."

"I know," Anakin replied. "That's why she's only going to be in stasis for two days and we'll wake her if there's any trouble."

Obi-Wan nodded. "This plan of yours to go to Coruscant is risky, Anakin." Obi-Wan cautioned. "I'm not sure if Ahsoka will be able to handle what you have planned."

"She won't change her mind about coming with us," Anakin said. "I won't leave her here for the empire to find either, she has to come with us."

Obi-Wan nodded, sadly this time. "That is true." He conceeded. "You realise that this is going to be the biggest battle in history, and she is only a child."

"We can't go waiting around for a few more years until she isn't, Obi-Wan." Anakin commented. "She can handle this, and if we don't survive, then the Jedi will be free at least."

"Going down fighting has always seemed like your style, Anakin."

"Anything to make things easier for someone else." Anakin reasoned. "What are you reading?"

"Reports on where the imperial fleets are strongest," Obi-Wan informed. "I'm surprised that none of them are near Polis Massa. They're all far too busy bloackading planets in the inner systems."

"The emperor has never been the smartest of people."

"That's a polite way of putting it, for you." Obi-Wan commented. "Did Ahsoka say that she wanted to be in stasis for two days? Or longer?"

"She didn't." Anakin said. "I did. I doubt she'll know she was put into stasis until the medical droid wakes her up; Ahsoka's scared to death of needles so I didn't tell her that it was happening."

"She's not going to be happy with you."

"She'll get over it if I play my cards right." Anakin said, shrugging his shoulders.

"If she's a thing like you, then her grudges will last a long time." Obi-Wan reminded him. "Ahsoka was always an active youngling, as I recall, even at her young age. I'm surprised the torture at the temple did not kill her."

"It almost did," Anakin commented. "Vader would have killed her if I hadn't gotten there in time."

"You barely did."

"I still did, though. Have you thought about contacting the Jedi council?"

"They wouldn't be able to do anything, their hands are cuffed to their chairs, and even if I could theres no communication devices left in the council chambers. Vader destroyed them all to try and get us to 'give up hope' which we almost had after a few years with no word from the outside world. Well, that is, until we found out that the chosen one was alive and well and completely innocent to the ways of the sith. I vaguely remember a polite young boy not being able to think of a reason to tell the emperor for why he didn't want to join the sith."

"A reason which the council provided straight afterwards, I remember."

"Then you saved Ahsoka, though we did not know whether or not she survived. We just assumed that Vader had killed her and that you were powerless to do a thing."

"Powerless? Me? Against Vader? I'd just chopped his hand off so I highly doubt that I would have classed as powerless at that time."

"How did you convince him to let Ahsoka live, anyway?"

"I told him that I would make his life a living hell, blow up the ship and kill him." Anakin said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "He said there was no way but after I reminded him that I was the chosen one we had a little conversation about how Jedi can't be trusted blah blah blah and then I just ran out of the room to get Ahsoka, who was in the brig after being treated by a medical droid."

"He didn't say a thing?"

"Oh he had plenty to say, I just didn't listen." Anakin grinned. "What's your medical diagnosis say?"

"Low nutrient levels, nutrient drip low, prone to fits if I don't rest, injuries that need to be healed, fractured bones, loss of water, loss of blood... it goes on." Obi-Wan said boredly. "What about yours?"

"Perfect health, apart from the fact that I have minor exhaustion." Anakin said lazily. "Probably from waking up every night for the past five years to help Ahsoka with her nightmares."

"I wonder why she has them," Obi-Wan questioned. "No other Jedi has had nightmares like hers as I understand it. We're all far too tired to even get nightmares."

"I don't know either, maybe its because she was the youngest youngling in the temple when it was taken over? I'm not sure."

"Either way, you should be sleeping. Minor exhaustion can turn nasty if you ignore it."

"I'm fine." Anakin protested.

"Now your beginning to sound like Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "Or is it the other way around?"

Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You promised to tell me what the two of you were on about on the battlefield?" Obi-Wan reminded him.

Anakin cursed silently, this Jedi had the memory of the force. "Well, when I was making Ahsoka feel better after her first nightmare, she got a little paranoid, since it was the after effects of her dream. I used the force to clear her mind but accidentaly created a mind bond between the two of us, so we can communicate silently without anyone else knowing."

"And you were talking about sexism... because?"

"I said something and Ahsoka said 'men'." Anakin replied.

"The ability to communicate without speaking or moving is a great one," Obi-Wan said. "But it can go wrong a few times."

"Tell me about it. One time Ahsoka tried to say something and it came out as a huttese swear through our bond. I can't remember the last time I've had to lie so much about why I was blushing or taking offense."

Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "You have a problem with Ahsoka swearing?"

"Well, we both have our areas that the other is not allowed to go into. I can swear in huttese, but not in Ahsoka's home planets language and she can swear in her home planets language but not in huttese. Therefore we don't know what the other is saying, but we know that its a swear."

"Ingenius, except that swearing around the Jedi temple will get you into trouble."

"What do you think the mind bond is used for?"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Immature, the pair of you. No wonder the council sent me to watch you." He muttered, but Anakin could just about hear it. "The rebel leaders might be making contact soon, what are you going to tell them?"

"Mothma? That she's a miserable witch for not telling the rebels what to do." Anakin said rudely. "If it's Senator Organa then I'll tell him that we're about to do something that will destroy the empire."

"And if it's Senator Amidala?"

Anakin swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "The same thing."

"You _do_ love her." Obi-Wan said, smiling slightly.

"I do not."

"Yes, you do."

"Obi-Wan, read my lips. I. Do. Not. Love. Her."

"Fine, not love, just admire."

"Admire is fine." Anakin said. "But not love, living with Darth Vader has washed away my visions of 'love'."

Obi-Wan nodded sadly. "You really should be getting some sleep," He advised. "You'll want to have all of your energy when Ahsoka is brought out of stasis and you have to deal with the consequences of your actions."

"You might be right on that one."


	22. Chapter 21

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 21**

_Two Days Later..._

Ahsoka opened her eyes slowly, the feeling of sleep a wonderful feeling that still echoed around her mind. It was the comfort of the pillow beneath her head and the blankets around her that had Ahsoka falling back to sleep, when she stopped abruptly. The lights were bright, and she always turned the lights off whenever she went to sleep. Vader's quarters was not the place you attracted attention in; Anakin had always told her to put the lights out when she went to sleep because he couldn't sleep with any lights on. Frowning, Ahsoka realised that this was _not_ Vader's quarters and the last few days came flooding back to her. She had just been told that she needed to go to sleep for a while with constant medical attention by the medical droid and to be put into stasis she had to be injected; Anakin had hugged her and after that she couldn't remember a thing.

Ahsoka's eyes widened before narrowing her eyes in a furious gaze; that stupid son of the force had put her into stasis without her realising!

Sitting up straight, Ahsoka threw back the covers and stormed towards the door. A medical droid stood in her way, a datapad in his hands and Ahsoka knew that it must have been alerting Anakin that she was awake.

"I am sorry, sir." The medical droid said. "But you cannot leave until Anakin Skywalker arrives, he has ordered that -"

"I'll see that he never orders another thing again." Ahsoka ground out. "Stand aside, I want to teach that force boy a lesson."

"I must protest, you cannot leave." The medical droid said.

"Move." Ahsoka clenched her jaw.

"You are not allowed to -"

"Ahsoka!" Anakin greeted, pushing the medical droid aside. "How are you -"

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Ahsoka shouted angrily. "You know I'm scared of needles! And you just, you -"

"Ahsoka, please, I had to. If I hadn't then you wouldn't be allowed to come to Coruscant with me and the rebels. Don't get angry, I won't put you into stasis ever again without your permission. Promise." Anakin cut across her, holding his hands up in surrender.

Ahsoka glared daggers at him furiously, not believing his statment for a second. As always, the sincirety of his apology made her waver and Ahsoka found that the way she could get him to calm down also worked the other way around, which was annoying. "Fine." She replied. "But if you do it again I am going to make your life a living hell, that's a promise."

Anakin let out a breath. "All right," He said. "I suppose you want to be filled in on the plan?"

"Well, duh." Ahsoka said, her arms now crossed over her chest.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "We're going to Coruscant to free the entire Jedi order." He informed her. "The rebels will fight the stormtroopers whilst we go inside and free the order, then we can get the Jedi onto the rebel cruiser that we have and get them away from Coruscant. We then flee with them and that's all I've got so far."

"That doesn't sound so hard," Ahsoka said. "We could be in and out of there easily, and the Jedi can just use the force to keep themselves out of trouble."

"That's what I thought," Anakin agreed. "But Obi-Wan insists that there are more than triple the amount of stormtroopers than the rebels we have at the moment and that we could be killed easily."

"He always sees the bad side of things," Ahsoka commented. "When do we leave?"

"Not for one more day." Anakin decided. "The rebels need time to get ready and prepare themselves. Until then, we just have to make sure the plan is foolproof."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Ahsoka said. "What are we going to do now?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Not particularly." Ahsoka replied boredly.

Anakin sighed. "You're never going to forgive me for putting you into stasis, are you?"

"Not a chance in the force."

"Do you want to do some anger managment?" Anakin asked.

Ahsoka's eyes began to twinkle with mischief. "I doubt there would be enough of it."

"Oh, we'll see. It depends on whether you want to take your anger out on me or a droid?"

"You." Ahsoka said without a seconds hesitation. "When do we start?"

"As soon as we get to a place where no one else will get hurt."

Ahsoka looked down the corridor and used the force to sense around them. "There's noone here." She said, grinning. "Let's start." Before Anakin could say anything else, Ahsoka had tackled him to the floor so that they were now halfway out the door and pinned him when someone cleared their throat to their right. Looking up, Ahsoka was surprised to see that it was Obi-Wan, his arms crossed and eyebrow arched.

"I see you are out of stasis," He said to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka opened her mouth to reply when Anakin used the distraction to get the upper hand and she was tackled to the floor as payback. They both lay in a heap on the floor and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and muttered, "Immature."

Anakin gave him an outraged look and Ahsoka took the oppurtunity to give him a good punch in the ribs. There was a moment when Anakin looked like a wounded fairy and he turned in his seated position and fell onto his back, eyes closed as he tried to still the pain he was now feeling. He let out a string of very rude swears which Ahsoka did not understand very well, but Obi-Wan had a disapproving look on his face.

"I'll get you for that, Ahsoka." Anakin ground out, his face now bright red.

Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why are you both wrestling with each other?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We aren't anymore," Ahsoka smirked. "I won. It's anger managment when one of us gets annoyed, though Anakin prefers to beat droids to a pulp before having a wrestling match."

"My anger is often way more destructive then yours," Anakin said, lifting his head whilst still laid down on the floor. "I hardly ever get angry, except for those few times which I will not mention."

"You mean with Owen-"

"Yes!" Anakin cut across her, ending the conversation. "And if you punch me in the ribs one more time there'll be hell to pay."

"You do know how to make an empty threat."

"I won't let you come to Coruscant." He threatened.

"Ooh, frightened." Ahsoka said sarcastically, putting a hand to her mouth in a mock scared gesture; Anakin rolled his eyes and closed them again, apparently Ahsoka's punch stung more than it seemed.

"Do you two ever stop acting like children?" Obi-Wan asked.

Ahsoka was about to tell him that she was a child when a sound from behind her indicated that Anakin was up to something and, by the time she had turned to face him, she was now floating in the air and struggling to remain upright.

"Hey!" She shouted at Anakin in protest. "Unfair!"

"How so?" He asked, smiling. "You could have done it, but I thought of it first."

Ahsoka was outraged but did a flip in mid air and decided that things weren't so bad. Within the space of a few seconds, she was lieing on the air she was floating in, hands behind her head and eyes closed like she was sleeping; this did not sit well with Anakin.

"You're not supposed to be relaxing," He scolded. "You're floating in mid air against your will! Who relaxes when thats happening?"

"You, for starts." Ahsoka replied, smiling. "I seem to recall accidentaly floating you into the air for eight hours and you falling asleep for five of them whilst I tried to figure out how to get you down."

"You what?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Long story," Anakin answered. "Maybe I'll leave you up there then?"

Ahsoka smirked. "Be my guest." She dared him, knowing that he would do it. True enough, the next second, Anakin let his arm down and Ahsoka was left suspended just below the ceiling as he stood up and dusted himself off. Obi-Wan was looking from one to the other as though they were crazy and Ahsoka was actually drifting off to sleep when the force told her to do something that would break the fall that was on the way. The look on Anakin's face was priceless when he let her down 'unexpectedly' and she simply landed easily on her feet.

"Unfair." He protested.

"You could have done it," Ahsoka replied, using what he had said earlier against him. "If you were floating in the air, that is." She added.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Let's get ready for our trip to Coruscant."

"Trip? I thought we were going to do something that would most likely kill us and destroy the empire?" Ahsoka asked cockily.

"Whatever you want to call it," Anakin replied.

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head. "I can't understand how you are both acting so immaturely when the fate of the galaxy is hanging in the balance, not to mention the balance of the force."

"There's no point in thinking about something for a long time," Anakin said. "It just makes you overthink things and then your brain makes its own problems up, so we just plan something out, run through it to make sure there are no problems and then relax and wait."

Obi-Wan shook his head and opened his mouth to speak when a siren began to sound through the medical facility, making Ahsoka jump - though she had known a sound was coming, she had not expected it to be so loud. Who was attacking Polis Massa? The empire couldn't have discovered their location so quickly and one of he rebel commanders rushed towards them before she could figure out what it was.

"Sir," He greeted, saluting.

"What _is_ going on?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"It appears that a child and a wookie had broken into the facility, sir." The commander answered.

"A child and a wookie?" Anakin asked. "Why did they break in?"

"The wookie is in bad shape, sir." The commander informed them. "He is being treated now, but the boy has been detained."

"How did they get to Polis Massa?" Ahsoka asked.

"A ship, it looks as though it will fall apart at any moment."

"Where is he?" Anakin questioned.

"We locked him in an empty room when he punched one of our troops for calling him 'little boy'."

Ahsoka glanced at Anakin, having sensed a wave of amusement coming from him through the force. "Lead the way." Anakin said, a smile playing on his lips. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and followed as Anakin, Obi-Wan and the rebel commander set off down the corridor.

If there was ever a person that Anakin would be able to make friends with, it was someone who over reacted to being called 'little boy'. This reminded Ahsoka of the great incident of dinner - as she and Anakin had nicknamed it - when they had been forced into having dinner with Vader, Governer Tarkin and a few Moffs who wanted to mock them and show them that there was no hope for them. Ahsoka smiled at the memory. Tarkin had made the mistake of insulting Anakin's mother - who just happened to be _Vader's _mother too - and they both stood up and lunged for him. Anakin went over the table in a sort of 'dolphin dive' whilst Vader sprinted around the edge and tackled Tarkin at the same time as Anakin, which sent them all onto the table - that collapsed - and food went flying everywhere. After that, it turned into a food fight mixed with an actual fight wherever Vader could get his hands on someone - that someone was usually Tarkin.

It was the most fun Ahsoka had _ever_ had.

She and Anakin had hidden behind a fragment of the broken table and thrown food at everyone in sight, effectively starting the food fight. Not once had either of them been hit with food, which was amazing since there was food flying _everywhere_. In the end, Vader choked everyone but Tarkin, Anakin and Ahsoka to death and stormed over to where they were still sat behind the fragment of the table in outrage. He grabbed Anakin by the collar - which left a red mark afterwards - and Ahsoka by the arm and dragged them back to his quarters, where he locked her in her room for a few days before Anakin convinced him that it was not her fault and she was let out again. Anakin could not be locked in his room, he could override the lock and - back then - Ahsoka could not. He taught her how the very next day, so it was not a total loss.

When they finally reached the room that the boy was being held in, they could hear a lot of banging from inside. It was obvious that he was wrecking the room and trying to get out. Anakin was the only one brave enough to go near the door - besides Obi-Wan and Ahsoka - and he knocked on it to get the boys attention.

"Hello?" He called inside, the banging stopped and there was no answer.

Shrugging his shoulders, Anakin palmed open the door - after over riding the lock - and took one step inside before something was thrown at him. "Hey!" He shouted, ducking under a datapad. "I'm here to let you out! Now stop throwing things at me and I'll take you to your wookie friend."

The objects stopped launching themselves at Anakin and a scruffy looking boy stepped forwards. He looked about six or seven, which was odd, and the look he gave Anakin was so murderous that Ahsoka had to stiffle a smirk behind her hand. "Who are you?" Anakin asked.

"I'm Han Solo, who the hell are you?" The boy asked in a tone that reminded Ahsoka so much of Anakin that she smiled a little.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," Anakin replied, obviously unfased by the boys rudeness - since it mirrored his own.

"Darth Vader's little bro?" Han asked, arching an eyebrow.

Anakin glared at him, though it was clearly just a slightly annoyed look. "I am his _half brother_ and if you want to see your wookie friend stop trying to crack wise, okay?"

"Fine." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Where's Chewie?"

"Chewie? Is that the wookies name?"

"Actually his name is Chewbecca, but I call him Chewie."

"Sweet nickname," Anakin said. "Nowhere near as sweet as ours, though." He added quietly to Ahsoka.

"Are you a rebel leader?"

"I have no idea what I am, so don't ask me. Why do you ask?"

"I want to join up."

"You? You're... what are you?"

"Seven."

Anakin snorted. "Seven? No. Not happening."

"Why not?"

"You're way too young."

"Fine, I'll just have to get Chewie to rip your limbs off until you agree to let us both join."

Anakin nose twitched, indicating that he had been backed into a corner, even though there was an easy way around it. He glanced at Ahsoka, who gave him a look that clearly said 'Don't get me involved' before turning back to Han and saying in mock reluctance, because it was clear that Anakin wanted the kid to join.

"Fine. You're in."


	23. Chapter 22

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 22**

Things were quiet.

_Unusually_ quiet.

The stormtroopers still guarded the Jedi temple with their repetitive marching, but apart from that, everything was just so... _quiet_. There were no ships flying around, no usual buzz from the city around them, just... _nothing_. Black smoke was still rising from the temple, as it always did, and the eerie quiet made it hard for the rebels to move into their positions. They had surrounded the temple now, and the stormtroopers outside of it. Han and Chewie were in their bucket of bolts, named the Millenium Falcon, and had done a pretty solid job of punching a hole through the imperial blockade and kept them busy whilst the rebels had gotten down to the surface. Curiously, Vader had not showed up, nor Dooku, nor Ventress, nor Starkiller... just... no one was there to stop them. It was easy, far too easy for Anakin's liking.

The next patrol of stormtroopers had just passed the spot where Anakin and Ahsoka were hiding and they seized their chance. Quick as lightning, they vaulted the crates and dashed up the steps of the Jedi temple, stopping only when they had reached the door – which was locked. Still, there was no one but the stormtroopers patrolling the temple in sight and Anakin had the sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen, he just didn't know _what_.

Ahsoka was being very quiet, meaning that she too felt that something was off and did not want to miss anything that could indicate they were in trouble. The locked door was no match for lightsabers and they had cut a hole through the door in seconds, but when they looked through it, Anakin knew for certain that something was very, _very_ wrong. The younglings that were sat in rows has fresh wounds, they were still bleeding – even the smallest cuts – meaning that they had to have been beaten a few minutes ago at maximum. Anakin could tell where Ahsoka was going first, but stopped her when he sensed an extremely dark presence.

Not just one dark presence, but five of them.

_Five _of them.

"We have to go," Anakin told Ahsoka but before they could move back out again, the door was ray shielded. Cursing silently, Anakin knew that he was a fool to have said that out loud. He should have just spoken with her through their bond, then it would be easier to get out. But now, now they had no choice but to venture further into the temple.

_What now? _Ahsoka's voice sounded in his head.

_We don't have a choice, we have to keep going. _Anakin replied. _But stay alert and keep your guard up at all times. _

They both ignited their lightsabers and began to, slowly, walk forwards. It was not pitch black, but it was very close. Their footsteps were silent and no sounds were made from anywhere, the younglings just kept their heads down and did not even look at them. Anakin could tell that they had been tortured to their limits and were not about to say anything, it would be a miracle if they got out of the temple alive – unlike Anakin and Ahsoka, who had just gotten themselves killed, or worse, imprisoned again.

Carefully, they walked up the steps and entered a corridor which ran all the way up the temple. The walls were illuminated by the glows from their sabers and their footsteps made very quiet echoes down the corridor. Everything about the situation screamed that something was wrong, which Anakin had known for some time now, and by the time they reached a crossroad at the corridor, the fact had been solidified.

Red sabers sprang up from all around them and Anakin hated the fact that they could hide their force presences for short amounts of time, in this case, it had just about sealed the fact that he and Ahsoka were about to die.

"Skywalker," A cackling voice said, coming from the direction of two red sabers, though another two red sabers were to his left – meaning that was where Ventress stood. "How nice of you to join us."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think you'd want to be all alone in a temple with thousands of Jedi." Anakin replied. "All of that light energy can't be good for you. I always wondered why you looked so ugly."

A growl of annoyance, followed by a burst of lightning that Anakin deflected off of his saber. "Foolish boy," Sidious growled. "I could have made you powerful, the strongest sith, perhaps even stronger than myself."

"You aren't the strongest sith," Anakin returned flatly. "You never were. You just held everyone back because your skills are weak, I wonder what it would be like if they fought you. There's four of them and one of you, who's gonna win? A seedy old man? Or four sith who are better than you'll ever be?" He taunted.

"You know nothing!" Sidious shrieked before sending another burst of lightning at Anakin, who deflected it again as though it wasn't there. "Join me or die!"

"I'd rather die," Anakin stated.

"So be it." Sidious decreed before all of the sabers moved towards them so fast that Anakin and Ahsoka barely had time to duck and deflect the blows that came their way. Three sets of sabers went for Anakin, whilst two went for Ahsoka.

It did not take long for them to be separated and Anakin lost sight of Ahsoka as she fought against Dooku and Ventress. It must have been a personal thing because if they had any kind of sense they would have all gone for Anakin, but their intelligence was just so... _simple_ that they had not even thought about it. It was with a great amount of effort on his part that Anakin gained the upper hand for a split second and stabbed Starkiller through the chest, ending the sith apprentices life forever.

Then he became engaged in a fierce battle against Sidious and Vader, both of which were fighting as fast as they possibly could. Lights flashed and bounced off of the walls as blue collided with red over and over again, the loud sounds extinguishing the silence that there had been just moments before and replacing it with the tell tale signs that something serious had just begun. A loud explosion sounded from the entrance hall and Anakin hoped to the force that it was the rebels and not the stormtroopers who were going to slaughter the Jedi order once and for all. Blaster fire echoed off of the walls and Anakin cursed inwardly, the fight had been taken inside of the temple.

That was _not_ the plan.

Vader and Sidious pulled back and Anakin was forced to deflect wave after wave of sith lightning, which he found made Sidious even more of a coward than he already was. It was not until Anakin was backed into a large room that any voices began to sound, but it was not from him, Vader or Sidious. This voice was familiar and Anakin almost froze with the revelation that he was in the _Jedi council chambers_.

He didn't have time to react, though, because Vader slashed down at him and Anakin had to parry the blow and return it with his own. The dual heated up when it became a match of who could deliver the fastest blows. Anakin had to match two sith lords that were fighting at lightning speeds with his own speed and he found himself depending entirely on the force to keep him alive, the two sith were just far too good together.

Something had to be done.

Before Anakin could come up with a plan to separate the two, he received a hard blow to the forehead from the hilt of Vader's lightsaber and his head, face and hair were soon covered in blood. Wincing, Anakin put every last ounce of energy that he had into pushing Vader back as far as possible. The force must have been feeling extremely generous because Vader was not only sent flying into the door, he went _through _it. He continued to go until he was out of sight and the few crashing noises that he left told Anakin that he had gone through some other things too, which – under other circumstances – would have made his jaw drop in awe.

But now that he was fighting the emperor, that urge just didn't seem to come to mind. He battled with Sidious furiously, every strike he made as fast and as precise as he could make it. It did not seem that either of them would win, until the temple began to shake – much like on the Exactor, so Anakin was used to it – and Sidious stumbled. Anakin took advantage of the opportunity and cleaved him in two before he could so much as breath. Everything was still for a second as Sidious looked down at himself, his severed waist, and then Anakin was hit squarely in the chest by force lightning and forced backwards.

He landed on his back just in front of Master Windu's chair and looked up in time to see Sidious fall to the floor. His top half going one way, his bottom half going the other. Letting out a hoarse breath, Anakin put his head back down on the floor as the aftershocks of the sith lightning went through his body. It was really, _really_ painful, especially when coupled with the massive blow to the head he had received.

Anakin immediately looked back up when a loud _crash!_ Came from somewhere nearby and he quickly stood back up, calling his lightsaber to his hand just as someone walked back into the room that he had not expected to see. A dark helmet rolled forwards and stopped at Anakin's feet, _Vader's _helmet.

Dreading what he would see next, Anakin looked up slowly and saw that stood there, with no suit, no helmet and no life support, was _Darth Vader_. His breathing must have been fixed, though how it happened Anakin had no idea. There were no signs that he had been injured and he looked as though he could fight for hours, where as Anakin knew he would not last more than five minutes, things were fading in and out for him and he wanted nothing more than to send Vader back through the door and to hell, where he belonged.

Anakin had only just took in a deep breath to steady himself when Vader lunged at him. The two blades cross at exactly the same point and when they began to fight, Anakin could not help but realise how alike they both were. Vader had soon turned Anakin around and was backing him out of the room, but whenever he tried to strike Anakin, Anakin would do the exact same thing in the exact same way – it was both infuriating and startling at the same time.

Backing up down the corridor, Anakin continued to deflect each of Vader's blows and ended up being pushed into a room full of Jedi knights and padawans. They looked up in shock and confusion as Anakin and Vader – who they had never seen out of his suit – battled like the force itself. Sparks were flying everywhere and their blades had become swift blurs that you could not see in detail, they were moving so fast.

Vader was tiring, Anakin could see it, and when he forced Anakin back yet again to stand on a very thin, metal beam, he almost lost his balance. He couldn't have been used to fighting without his suit on, otherwise he would not have just stumbled and made himself look like a total idiot.

Their sabers locked again and this time neither one could move further than a few steps forwards or backwards. Their was a metal object below them that had steam shooting out of it and Anakin recognised it as a device that the empire had created to hold lava, their favourite way to torture Jedi who made fun of Vader's need for the suit. Without thinking, Anakin deflected Vader's saber down and towards the pressurised object to try and divert his attention.

It did not work in the way that he had expected it to.

Vader did not bother to stop his lightsaber from connecting with it and Anakin had only a second to take a few steps backwards before a massive explosion tore through the air. Lava went _everywhere_ and Anakin was lucky since he was thrown by the shock wave onto another platform that did not get touched by the lava. Vader, on the other hand, was not so lucky and his screams where the last thing that Anakin heard before his ears began to ring.

His senses dulled, movement stilled, and his world went black.

* * *

Ahsoka had not known any time when she had been so _tired_ and absolutley shattered. Not even her years being tortured in the temple compared to how she was feeling right now. Being separated from Anakin was not her initial plan, but she knew he would be able to take care of himself. What she didn't know was whether or not _she_ would be able to take care of herself.

Dooku and Ventress were... a challenge, to say the least.

Ahsoka parried and dodged each attack as fast as she could because another one came straight after it. Ventress struck out at her side and, from the amount of pain she felt even though she had blocked it, she was bleeding. Dooku was more skilled than Ventress, and yet strangely easier to predict. He had a very precise fighting style that required him to do the same thing over and over again. So when Ahsoka delivered a sharp kick to his ribs and severed his head from his body, it did not surprise her in the least.

Now, all that was left was Ventress.

Ahsoka fought the force adept like she had never done before and it was after a few minutes, a narrow escape from a collapsing ceiling, battling through the room filled with Jedi padawans and ending up in a corridor near the room that held Jedi masters that weren't on the council that Ahsoka _finally_ managed to gain the upper hand.

Ventress had not been expecting it, how could she?

Ahsoka ducked under both of the force adepts lightsabers, used the force to make her stumble and stabbed her through the heart and her chest with her lightsabers. Ventress fell to the ground with a quiet _thud_ and Ahsoka turned slowly on her heel, readying herself to aid Anakin when the sight of Darth Vader greeted her.

No armour.

No helmet.

No life support.

He was just...

_There_.

Before she could even blink he has raised his hand and Ahsoka was sent flying through the wall. Landing in a room filled with Jedi masters, she could not tell what was going on around her. Everything was dark and damp, but she could definetly feel someones hand on her shoulder, someone shaking her.

Her senses dulled, movement stilled, and her world went black.


	24. Chapter 23

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 23**

Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been more shocked in his life when he recieved a message from the Jedi temple. At first he had thought it to be Anakin, or Ahsoka, telling him that they were on their way back - but it wasn't. In fact, the message did not even come from their comlinks, it came from the communications tower. When the images of Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and Shaak Ti popped up, he thought that the mission must have been a success... but if that were true, then they would all be on their way back to Polis Massa right now. So it couldn't have worked the way they'd planned it out, but they were not chained to chairs in the Jedi council room.

He listened curiously when they told him that all five sith lords had come into the Jedi temple, knowing full well that Anakin and Ahsoka were going to arrive to try and save the remaining Jedi, and that they had tortured everyone so that they would not warn them when they arrived. Obi-Wan was shocked to discover that the five sith had apprehended both Anakin and Ahsoka and that the two had been separated.

Anakin had been fighting against The Emperor, Darth Vader and Starkiller.

Ahsoka had been fighting against Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress.

By all odds and every bit of logic that existed in the universe, they should both be dead. None of the sith should have been killed and they should both have been eliminated on the spot, but they hadn't.

Obi-Wan was then told that Anakin had been backed into the Jedi council chambers as he fought against both Vader and The Emperor and had used the force not only to push Vader back, but to throw him _through_ the _metal_ door, down the corridor and through some more walls which were a _few metres thick_. After that, he had fought against The Emperor and severed him in half - but Sidious had managed to send one last wave of sith lightning at Anakin before death and Anakin had almost passed out just in front of Master Windu's chair.

Obi-Wan knew that should have been the end of Anakin's story, but it wasn't.

After that, Vader had come into the room _suitless_ and he and Anakin had fought like they had never seen anyone fight before. It was like they were the same person at some points, which they put down to the two being half brothers, and Anakin had been backed out of the room. They had found him in a room filled with knights and padawans after freeing themselves with the key in The Emperors robes. According to them, he and Vader had been fighting on a metal beam when Anakin had forced Vader's lightsaber downwards and the sith lord had been too stupid to realise that it was headed for a pressurised container that also held lava - meaning that Anakin's way of trying to buy himself time had ended with an explosion that sent lava everywhere, but luckily not on him or any of the Jedi in the room, and caused him to pass out on a platform whilst Vader was burned and killed by the lava.

A death that, by all means, no one should have deserved. But in Vader's case, an exception had to be made.

Ahsoka had been found unconscious in a room filled with Jedi masters - according to them she had been thrown through the wall by Vader and passed out, the bodies of Dooku and Ventress were nearby.

So that meant that, despite all of the odds against them and every bit of power the sith possessed, Anakin and Ahsoka had won.

Sort of.

Both were in serious conditions.

Anakin had sustained a head injury for almost half of the time he was fighting Vader and The Emperor and had passed out, which he was not supposed to do since he had a head injury, and a serious one at that.

Ahsoka had several cracked and broken ribs and her side had been badly injured in her fight, which the council were still trying to find HoloFootage of so they could know what had happened.

Both had lost a fair amount of blood but not a critical amount and were now in the medical ward in the Jedi temple, that the rebels had reactivated the moment they discovered that Anakin and Ahsoka were injured and found to be completely intact. The sith had not bothered to destroy it or any medical droids, which meant that Anakin and Ahsoka recieved a lot of treatment.

They were still waiting for their conditions to stabalise - it didn't help that they were suffering from exhaustion - and wanted Obi-Wan to return to the temple as soon as possible. Without their leaders, the imperials had gone into a frenzy and the blockade around Coruscant was soon destroyed by rebel fighters and cruisers that were brought in by the rest of the alliance, who had not been told about the mission to save the Jedi - which Obi-Wan had been forced to explain about how most of the rebel leaders did not trust Anakin or Ahsoka and everything that had happened.

Obi-Wan, along with the few injured and now healed rebels that were on Polis Massa, were flown to Coruscant by Han Solo and Chewbecca. It was true what the council had said, there were no imperial ships left around Coruscant and no leaders left for the empire, meaning that it was crumbling faster than anyone had dared hope it would in a long time. When they landed in the temple hanger, that looked better than Obi-Wan had seen it for years, he was greeted by the entire Jedi council, who were not about to stay sat down for a very long time. It raised peoples spirits to know that Anakin and Ahsoka had agreed to burn the chairs if they wanted them too - that was, _if_ they survived.

Every Jedi had been freed from their bonds and many were either recieving medical treatment for their wounds or running around and trying to get some feeling back into their legs. The rebels that had fought against the stormtroopers that guarded the temple were helping out with the younglings and fixing the temple, whilst the others were at the senate building and sorting out the galaxy. It would take a while to pull things together and declare the empire gone, because they needed someone who could take the throne.

That person just happened to be in the medical ward with his padawan, recovering from the biggest battle there had ever been.

If Anakin recovered quickly enough, he would be able to take control of the empire - as the only blood descendant who had a claim to the throne left - and turn it back into the republic. But now, he did not seem as though he would recover quick enough and the rebel leaders were having to work twice as hard to keep the galaxy from falling apart.

The council had retrieved Master Yoda from his cage in the imperial palace and he was recovering quickly. After all, the Jedi order would be in very bad shape if it did not have it's grand master to guide it - as was the thinking of the sith. Now, they all watched as the medical droids took Anakin and Ahsoka out of their bacta tanks and placed them back on their beds. Anakin's right arm was bandaged since he had landed on it and broken it in five places, his head was banadaged too - luckily he did not have any trauma - and his left wrist was twisted, so that was bandaged too - though not for long.

His condition had stabilised first, which gave the council hope that he would awaken soon.

Ahsoka's waist and torso had been bandaged, due to the broken ribs, and her side had been healed by the bacta but bandaged also due to the risk of infection. Her ankle had been fractured, head had a small bandage stuck over where she was bleeding before and shoulder had come very close to being dislocated - due to being thrown through a wall.

Her condition had stabilised a few hours after Anakin's and it was certain that they were going to make a full recovery, which was nothing short of a miracle.

Anakin had been made a Jedi knight, though he had the skill of a master and was simply too young to become one, and Ahsoka was now his official padawan. The Jedi code had been amended due to large amounts of distress and every Jedi that wished to was going home to their families for a minimum of two months. Of course, every youngling was going home and many families had already arrived to collect them, the only problem was that if there was no one in the temple and all the Jedi were going home to their families, Anakin had nowhere to go.

The only family he had left was his brother, Vader, but now he was dead.

Actually, there was one detail that surprised Obi-Wan more than the whole ordeal put together that was in another cage in the emperors throne room, but Anakin would have to decide what to do when he discovered it.

Vader's flagship, the Exactor, had been shot down and the security footage from it and all of Vader's outings had been retrieved.

If Obi-Wan had thought that what they did in their spare time was stupid, he had no idea how much worse they were on outings.

The council stood, watching the footage of when Vader had taken both Anakin and Ahsoka to Florum to deal with some pirates and what they saw was just plain bonkers.

_Having lost their ammo, the pirates were back to using Vibro Blades and knifes. Vader had lost Anakin and Ahsoka somewhere in the battle and was choking a pirate to find out where they had gone._

_"Tell me where they went." He ordered, squeezing the pressure on the pirate a little more. _

_The pirate opened his mouth to answer when something caught his eye and as his head turned his jaw dropped. Vader turned to look also and froze in position._

_"I don't believe it..." He said in disbelief._

_The hologram flickered and changed to show Anakin and Ahsoka fighting with Vibro Blades against pirates on a thin wooden pole, suspended in the air by rope. They looked as though they had never been happier, and were wearing pirate disguises since they had been undecover. _

_Unexpectedly, Ahsoka ducked and Anakin slashed his blade over her head to cut on end of the rope and all of the pirates fell to the floor whilst they simply stood on the other end, holding the remaining rope for support. They looked at each other and smirked._

_"Amatuers." Anakin commented._

The rest of the footage was mainly just Anakin and Ahsoka living together and their day to day life. It was disturbing to realise how much Ahsoka did not know when she began living with Anakin. She could not read, spell or write, and did not know anything that Anakin said. She hadn't known what HoloBooks, HoloVids or pyjamas were, which was just proof of how much the empire had effected the Jedi order, and had the same amount of intelligence as someone with a serious case of amnesia.

They could also see all of Ahsoka's nightmares, Anakin teaching her how to fight and comforting her when she was upset, a rather interesting food fight which Obi-Wan had decided to ask them about when they awoke and many other things, a few involving Vader being humiliated or Ahsoka bursting out laughing when he got his revenge on Anakin, or when she had him suspended in mid air and could not figure out how to get him down. It seemed just like a normal brother and sister, with the older one who always got in the way, and their life seemed perfectly normal; with the exception of a few events that were down to Anakin's immature personality rubbing off on Ahsoka.

Deciding that watching the security footage only backed up the knowledge that they were still young and, whenever they could be, carefree. Truthfully, the council felt that they needed someone to keep them in check, and - having been sent to do that in the first place - Obi-Wan was hardly given a choice in the matter when they said that he would be watching over them. Not that he really minded, both were kind and friendly and did not go around acting like idiots when there were people around to watch.

The beeping of a comlink sounded and, on the other end, was a medical droid.

"Sir," It began.

"Is something wrong?"

"They are awake."


	25. Chapter 24

**My Brothers Empire**

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.**

**Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will. **

**Chapter 24**

Medical droids.

Ahsoka _hated_ medical droids.

She could sense one nearby before she opened her eyes, it's mechanical voice worse than Vader's had ever , Ahsoka wondered where she was. Vader without his suit on would be Anakin's equal and if Anakin was dead, and Vader was alive, and she was in a medical ward... that would mean she was back on Vader's flagship, the Exactor. Except this didn't feel like the Exactor, she could sense no dark presences anywhere nearby. In fact, she could sense a very light presence right next to her.

_Anakin. _

Opening her eyes, Ahsoka looked over at Anakin and was shocked to see that his head was bandaged, along with his right arm and left wrist. His eyes were open too, and he smiled at Ahsoka when her gaze locked with his. He looked exhausted, judging from the bags under his eyes, but seemed to be regaining his energy rather quickly. There was something different about him, it was his eye. Just beside his right eye was a scar, that looked as though it had just had some stitching removed and the wound had healed, leaving only that scar; it made him look as though he was a few years older than he actually was, which was a little unsettling.

"How you feeling, Snips?" He asked light heartedly, showing that he had not changed one bit.

Ahsoka shrugged, her side caused her the slightest bit of pain because of it but she decided - after looking down to make sure she wasn't bleeding - that it was nothing. "Like I was thrown through a wall," She replied. "Which I was."

Anakin lifted his head off of his pillow. "You were?" He asked. "By who? Dooku?"

"No," Ahsoka responded. "I killed him, and Ventress, it was Vader."

Nodding once, Anakin put his head back onto his pillow. "I killed him," He said. "Sort of."

"What happened?"

"I pushed his lightsaber towards a pressurised, metal container with lava inside so that he would have to stop himself and I could have a few seconds to recover, but he wasn't paying attention and we both got blown up. I'm not sure, but I think he was killed by the lava."

"What about Sidious and Starkiller?"

"Dead and dead." Anakin said simply. "Sidious was cut in half, though he managed to hit me with force lightning just before he died, and Starkiller I stabbed in the chest."

"How'd you hurt your head?"

"Vader slammed into it with the hilt of his saber."

"Is that why you have that scar over your eye, too?" Ahsoka asked, unable to help herself.

Anakin frowned. "I don't think so," He said slowly. "That must have happened after I passed out."

"I passed out too." Ahsoka admitted.

The medical droid hovered over to them and Ahsoka had to avert her gaze, medical droids were just so... Shaking her head slightly, Ahsoka shifted into a more comfortable position and forced herself to stomach her fear of medical droids so that she could listen to what it was saying.

"Master Skywalker," It began, making Ahsoka frown. "You have broken your arm in five places, a twisted wrist and a serious wound on your head that we have bandaged."

"_Master Skywalker_?" Anakin asked, confused. "What are you on about?"

"You are Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin gawped at him. "No, I'm not." He said slowly, more confused than before.

"Yes you are, sir." The droid continued. "You were made a Jedi knight by the Jedi council four and a half days ago."

"Four and a half _days_?" Ahsoka asked.

"_Knight_?" Anakin asked, not bothered about the amount of time they were unconscious. "Wait, no, _I_ can't be a Jedi. That's against the code -"

"Oh, master, will you just lay back and accept something for once?" Ahsoka cut across him.

"Don't call me master," Anakin said, though it was not as certain as before.

"Why not? That's how its supposed to be."

"Yes, but -"

"What injuries do I have?" Ahsoka asked the medical droid, not allowing Anakin to continue.

"Broken and fractured ribs, a twisted ankle, a small cut on your forehead and your shoulder was nearly dislocated, though we have rectified it." The medical droid said.

"So more serious than mine, then?" Anakin questioned.

"Not necessarily, your head injury was very serious, but your padawan has broken and fractured six ribs all together."

"You should have been more careful, Ahsoka."

"_Me_? I'm not the one with the head injury!"

"At least I didn't get thrown through a wall!"

"Ah, awake I see." A familiar voice said, causing their argument to end and their heads to turn to the doorway, where Obi-Wan stood looking amused – the Jedi council was behind him.

"You're not on Polis Massa then," Anakin said; Ahsoka can tell that he was wanting to leave the Jedi master behind so that they wouldn't be lectured every ten seconds.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as he and the rest of the council – including Master Yoda - walked into the room. They all either had bandages on some part of their body or had scars from where their injuries had healed, this made Ahsoka feel slightly guilty that she was not awake when they were freed. Their Jedi tunics looked new, which Ahsoka did not blame them for getting, and many looked as though they had been asleep for a few days, though not as long as she and Anakin had been.

"What happened?" Anakin asked. "After we passed out, I mean."

"We freed ourselves with the key card in the emperors robes," Master Windu explained. "Then we went looking for you. We did not expect the two of you to have passed out, or that you would cause an explosion."

"It was supposed to be a distraction so I could have a few seconds to recover," Anakin informed. "But Vader wasn't paying any attention."

"He was killed by the lava shortly after the explosion."

"Ouch, so what happened after that?"

"Well..."

* * *

**Celebration Day, Outside The Jedi Temple, Ahsoka Tano POV**

I've never been to a celebration, there hasn't been much to celebrate, but I know that this one will last for a few weeks at least.

Every citizen from every planet that was under the empires control is out celebrating today, and for days to come. Anakin, my master, took control of the empire as the soul air to the throne and turned it back into the republic before stepping down and giving all the power to the senate - democracy was reinstated. He's now known as 'The Hero With No Fear' and has another title too, 'The Kind Royal' which he hasn't shut up about since the HoloNet announced it.

On the bright side, I'm known as 'The Jedi Of Hope' still, which I find is a much better title than any that Anakin has.

All of the Jedi that went back to their families are here with us as we're celebrating, and they've only been gone for a week. I've never been thanked so much in my life - though I suppose the time I stopped Anakin from blowing up the Exactor comes close to it - and the only thing I can hear is music blasting, people cheering and singing and Anakin, who is right beside me now.

"Come on Snips!" He calls over the noise of the crowd that is everywhere. "There's some people I want you to meet!"

He's done nothing but hang around with Senator Amidala for most of the day, so I have a pretty good idea of who I'm going to be seeing. Hopeless, he redefined the word. It took a good shove from me to get him to kiss her, and it's all over the HoloNet now. You should have seen Obi-Wan's face when he found out that they were in love, he can't have been taking a word I've said about her and Anakin seriously because I have never seen his jaw drop that quickly in my life.

Anakin grabs my hand and leads me out from the middle of a crowd, mostly containing boys who want me to go out with them... yuck!

Owen Larrs is alive, as it turned out, and the council found him in a cage in the emperors throne room. When Anakin heard that he was alive I thought he was going to pass out again, the only time I've seen him hug someone _that_ tightly was when he hugged me, I got lost for a few days on Gallinore and found my way back to where he was staying. Owen and Anakin have never been closer, and Owen's even got a fiance now, her names Beru.

I would bet a hundred credits that Anakin is going to propose to Padme at some point, it's not as if love is forbbiden in the Jedi order anymore. And Anakin has a scar beside his eye that he got from the shrapnel of the explosion, people say that it's a reminder of what he did and how he destroyed the sith and fulfilled the prophecy of the chosen one. I don't think I've ever seen Master Yoda so happy, or any of the council members for that matter, the order has been waiting for the chosen one for thousands of years so it was no surprise when Anakin was patted on the back by about a thousand Jedi.

He leads me into a quieter area and I can see two people who seem strangely familiar standing nearby, a male and female togruta couple to be exact.

Frowning, I look up at Anakin and back to them before my brain begins to make sense of everything. They couldn't be... could they?

"Ahsoka," The woman says, smiling at me.

I don't dare to hope, but I just have to ask. "Mum?"

They both smile at me.

"Dad?" I ask, looking at the man now before looking back up at Anakin. "How...?"

"You didn't expect me not to get into contact with them, did you?" He asks, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, I _am_ your guardian."

In the next few seconds, I am in the arms of my parents. It does not surprise me that they are happy to see me alive and well, I am happy to see them too. I can't imagine what it was like for them, thinking that I was dead for so long and only hearing reports about me from the HoloNet. Happily, I remember that I have the best master in the world, he did raise me after all.

My name is Ahsoka Tano. I'm a legendary Jedi and the padawan of the chosen one.


End file.
